Anderlecht goalkeeper Hendrick van Crombrugge admits personal factors were the reason behind him turning down a £1.5 million move to Premier League outfit Nottingham Forest in the January transfer window.
Eight months ago, Anderlecht and Nottingham Forest lined up two deals in the final stretch of the window but failed to finalise either of them.
The Belgian giants’ sporting director, Jesper Fredberg, made no secret about the fact he was ‘very annoyed’ to see Steve Cooper’s side get cold feet over Harry Toffolo’s proposed switch to the Jupiler League.
Forest themselves, meanwhile, were left ‘stunned’ when Hendrick van Crombrugge opted to turn his nose up at a mid-season switch to the City Ground; the two-time European champions having agreed a fee of £1.5 million (The Sun).
Hendrick van Crombrugge explains Nottingham Forest snub
“I received that call from my agent in the last hours of the winter window. At that moment, I was standing at the school gate and had to make a decision with a snap of my fingers. Anderlecht were very happy to let me go,” Van Crombrugge now recalls, speaking to Het Laaste Nieuws.
“I couldn’t suddenly turn my family’s world upside down. So Anderlecht had to accept that I would stay for a few more months.”
Forest would eventually bring in Keylor Navas from Paris Saint-Germain instead. They then landed both Matt Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos in preparation for the current campaign.
Van Crombrugge, meanwhile, eventually swapped Anderlecht – the club he captained for many a year – for a Genk side among the favourites to claim Belgium’s biggest prize this term.
‘England was not among them’
“A football career is too short to have regrets. My family is sacred and will always come first,” the one-time Belgium international adds.
“I had made a list of destinations in advance where I would go. Germany was on that list because my wife and children speak fluent German. England was not among them.”
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