Five years on from his £20m move to Merseyside from Watford, the midfielder saw his Everton contract expire in the summer.
He had been a key figure for the Toffees, racking up 166 appearances and scoring 21 goals.
The 32-year-old left Europe in August, sealing a switch to Saudi Pro League outfit SC Neom and penning a two-year deal.
However, it appears he could have stayed in England having supposedly attracted admiring glances from the Premier League’s three newly-promoted clubs.
Abdoulaye Doucouré claim
He told The Athletic: “Obviously, I knew my time would come to an end at some point because my wish was always to come to Saudi or the Middle East. And I knew they (Everton) were trying to bring new players.
I had the proposition on the table from Everton but the offer from Saudi was much higher. I had a lot of interest from the Premier League.
“I had a huge proposal from Sunderland as I knew the manager (Regis Le Bris), my former academy coach in France, very well. I had some interest from Leeds and Burnley.
But if I was staying in England, Everton was my priority. So I didn’t really give an answer to those teams.”
