Club Brugge midfielder Hans Vanaken has claimed West Ham made a late bid to sign him in the final week of the transfer window.
That offer, believed to be €15million, was turned down by the Berlgian side as it didn’t meet their valuation of the player.
It would have been a surprise move from David Moyes considering he was hellbent on signing defenders in the transfer window but only completed a move for one, bringing in Vladimir Coufal from Slavia Prague for £5.4million on a three-year deal.
In light of the Hammers’ bid for Vanaken, Brugge offered him and new contract which he accepted, having been a key player in their Belgian Jupiler Pro League triumph in 2019/20 which was cut short amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The 28-year-old is currently on international duty with Belgium and said on Tuesday, as quoted by Sporza and Sport Witness : “It’s true that Club refused a bid, but that has always been communicated correctly.
“In the end, Club Brugge made an effort towards me. If I really wanted to go, I might have played it dirtier, but that’s not how I am. It also shows the respect that there is between me and the club.”
Vanaken has already hit five goals and bagged three assists in the 2020/21 campaign for Brugge having netted 17 in 47 games across all competitions last season.
West Ham failed to bring in a centre back on transfer deadline day despite agreeing a deal with Chelsea’s Fikayo Tomori, who eventually pulled out of a loan move just ten minutes before the 11pm deadline.
Moyes still has time to complete any transfers but they must come from the EFL and has to be done before that deadline on October 15. The Hammers have been linked with movies for Craig Dawson, Steve Cook, Joe Rodon, Danny Welbeck and Josh King.
Felipe Anderson left the club on Tuesday to join Porto in Portugal on a season-long loan deal with no option to buy at the end of it.
