Belgium international Hans Vanaken admits he ‘talked about’ joining West Ham United before Club Brugge turned down a £13 million bid from the Premier League outfit in the summer of 2020, speaking to Eleven Insiders.
There’s a bit of the Tomas Souceks about Vanaken. A tall, rangy central midfielder with an excellent goalscoring record.
In fact, Vanaken has reached double figures in every single season since 2011/12, hitting the target 15 times this term alone.
And they say loyalty is dead. Vanaken has had plenty of opportunities to make his name on a bigger stage over the years but remains committed to Club Brugge.
Then again, a tally five Jupiler League titles and two Belgian Player of the Year awards probably help.
West Ham wanted Hans Vanaken from Club Brugge
West Ham failed with a £13 million bid for their long-term transfer target back in 2020 (Sky Sports).
But Vanaken instead opted to put pen to paper on a new deal at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
“We were then in the time of corona and there was also Brexit,” says the 29-year-old, who has 19 caps for the Belgian national team.
“Which made it not easy to go to London.
“Of course, my wife and I talked about it. We liked the city of London. When I first heard that West Ham was really concrete, Club Brugge had already refused two offers.
“Then they also offered me a new contract and I stayed.”
This is not the first time Vanaken has spoken publicly about West Ham’s interest. A couple of years ago, one of Europe’s most prolific midfield players insisted that winning trophies was more important to him than making his mark on English soil.
Firing Club Brugge to yet another Jupiler League title this month – while taking his tally to 101 goals in 338 games for the Blauw-Zwart – and it’s fair to say that decision has been justified.
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