Akale keen on leaving Recre

The 27-year-old has fallen out of favour at the Spanish side and is keen on a return to French side Lens, who still owns him.

“I am not playing at the moment, since the new manager (Lucas Alcaraz) came to the club,” Akale told Sky Sports.

“I am not happy. I did everything to lose weight and to do more work but the new manager does not like me.

“I am not important to him and I think he wants to play more Spaniards in his team. That is the impression I get from him.

“Every time I have played I have played well, but he has told me that he prefers other options.

“The only thing I want to do is play. My agent tried to find me a deal in January but, with little time, that didn’t happen.

“I love La Liga, but I want to play. Returning to France is an option but I love the idea of playing in the Premier League.

“I almost joined a team there last summer, but I still belong to Lens. They still want three to four million euros (£3.5m).

“But I hope I can find a solution because I want to play and the next five months are going to be hard.”