Arsenal, Leeds United and more allegedly wanted Emmanuel Dennis over the summer. But the struggling striker might have missed his chance to join a Premier League giant, as Belgian scout Stan Van den Buijs told Krant van West-Vlaanderen.
The speedy Nigerian has never been the most prolific of forwards, scoring just nine times as Club Brugge won the Jupiler League title last season. But it was his tendency to step up on the biggest occasions that earned him admirers all over Europe.
Dennis not only found the net twice at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League, he also executed a sublime lob against Manchester United in the spring.
Walfoot reported that stand-out performances against the biggest clubs on the continent had caught the eye of Arsenal, Everton, Leicester City, Newcastle United and many more.
The Mail, meanwhile, claim that Leeds made an enquiry about the attacker before realising that Rodrigo Moreno was more than just a pipe dream.
Dennis has struggled for form since 2020/21 began, scoring just once in 10 games and none in seven Jupiler League matches.
According to Van den Buijs, that is not good news for his personal prospects.
“No Premier League club will pay £20 million for an attacker (who plays for) a dominant team and who has scored zero goals in his own league,” Van den Buijs said.
Former Brugge coach Rudi Cossey, meanwhile, feels that Dennis needs to, if we can use a very northern expression, give his head a wobble.
“In the beginning he was sharp, down to earth and driven to prove himself, but after that he did not handle the success so well,” Cossey said.
“He has started to go his own way. He focused on a transfer, but it didn’t happen and he found it very difficult to deal with.”
“He is a gold nugget for Club Brugge, but he is not developing as expected.
“It is not only in Bruges that coaches will ask him to work hard, and also fight to win back the ball when you lose it. If you fail to do that in a big league, you have a big problem.”
Marcelo Bielsa and Mikel Arteta are not coaches willing to carry passengers, as Mesut Ozil discovered. So, if Dennis wants to spark interest again in 2021, he needs to improve not only his finishing skills but also his work rate.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
