Tottenham Hotspur and Club Brugge are close to an agreement for the transfer of Victor Wanyama but it is now down to the player to agree terms on the move.
The 28-year-old has fallen way down the pecking order at Spurs after a string of knee injuries and the arrival of club record signing Tanguy Ndombele this summer.
He was on the bench for Tottenham's opening match of the Premier League season against Aston Villa, but manager Mauricio Pochettino turned to 18-year-old Oliver Skipp to come on instead of the Kenyan and Wanyama was subsequently dropped from the squad for the following match at Manchester City.
Pochettino is a big fan of Wanyama, having managed him at Southampton and been keen to bring him with to Spurs. The player formed a devastating partnership with Mousa Dembele after signing for £11m in 2016, but those knee injuries have limited the Kenya captain's ability to perform regularly for Spurs since.
He started just four Premier League matches in the last campaign and eight in the one before that.
With Ndombele, Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko, Eric Dier and Skipp at the manager's disposal and Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and new signing Giovani Lo Celso also able to play in the centre of midfield, Pochettino has decided that Wanyama can move on this summer to trim a bloated midfield.
football.london understands that a deal eventually worth £13.5m for the midfielder is close to being agreed between Spurs and Belgian side Club Brugge - a £9m fee up front with £4.5m in add-ons.
However, Wanyama, who has two years left on his contract at Tottenham, has yet to agree terms with the Jupiler Pro League side as they aim to meet his £65,000-a-week wages.
If he does agree to a move then it would be a homecoming of sorts for the midfielder who spent his early years in Belgium, playing for three years at Beerschot.
Wanyama, who played at the Africa Cup of Nations this summer, also has a connection to Club Brugge as his friend and former Beerschot team-mate Philippe Clement is their manager.
The move is expected to be held up until later this month as Brugge face Austrian side LASK Linz in their Champions League qualifier second leg on Wednesday.
The Belgian side are 1-0 up from the first leg and should they win the tie and qualify for the group stages it will provide a £20m boost to their spending power and put Champions League football on the table for Wanyama.
The Belgian transfer window remains open until September 2, giving all parties plenty of time to get a deal done.
