The midfielder ended his four-year association with French top flight club Marseille to join Premier League club Aston Villa in the winter transfer window.
Sanson put pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Villans, committing his future to a club outside his home country for the first time in his career.
However, the 26-year-old could have ended up at another English club instead of Aston Villa last summer, with Leeds expressing interest in him.
Sanson has revealed that the Whites were keen to acquire his services last summer but he decided against the move as he felt it was not the right time to make the move.
“I’ve known everything in Ligue 1, especially with Montpellier and Marseille, so I was at a point where I was wondering: ‘why not go abroad?’“, Sanson told French television channel Canal+.
“Since I was little I have always had a special affection for this championship [the Premier League].
“Aston Villa are a big club in England, but it could have been another club the summer before, there was Leeds who were very interested, but I felt that was not the time.“
Sanson featured in Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory over Leeds at the weekend, replacing Jacob Ramsey in the second half.
