West Ham United want Hans Vanaken but a first bid of just €10million has been rejected by Club Brugge.
This has been a really mixed summer for West Ham.
On the one hand, deals for Nayef Aguerd, Alphonse Areola, Flynn Downes, Maxwell Cornet and Gianluca Scamacca have been hugely impressive..
On the other, West Ham have missed out on a number of targets from Jesse Lingard to Matheus Nunes and even Amadou Onana.
David Moyes has sounded frustrated of late as he chases additions, and it now sounds like one move has suffered a dent.
West Ham United want Hans Vanaken
Sky Sports reported on Monday that West Ham are back in for Club Brugge ace Vanaken.
That story has advanced quickly as Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad claim that West Ham’s offer of €10million (£8.5million) has been rejected by Club Brugge.
The offer is described as ‘completely inadequate’ and Club Brugge consider Vanaken’s departure ‘out of the question’ in this window.
The report adds that West Ham actually offered more for Vanaken in September 2020.
West Ham allegedly put €15million (£12.5million) on the table for Vanaken back then but couldn’t get a deal done.
Vanaken indicated that COVID-19 and Brexit both made it difficult for him to join West Ham at the time, and whilst he likes London, he chose to stay in Belgium.
Fast forward nearly two years and West Ham are back in for Vanaken once again and are hoping for better luck this time.
Vanaken, 29, is a huge presence at 6ft 5in tall and has a hugely impressive goalscoring record, bagging 101 goals in 342 games for Club Brugge whilst also racking up 72 assists.
Vanaken primarily plays as a number 10 and could give West Ham another aerial threat from midfield just like Tomas Soucek.
Moyes has clearly wanted Vanaken for a long time and this new attempt is no surprise, but it seems that a deal will still be difficult to pull off.
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