Called up by Roberto Martinez to be a part of Belgium’s squad despite not currently having a club, Jason Denayer is on the verge of signing somewhere, but it won’t be Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Bruno Lage’s side wanted to sign the centre-back, who left Lyon this summer after refusing to renew his contract, but it was said the player had been holding off on agreeing terms with both Wolves and Fulham, supposedly waiting for a top club.
Well, that clearly hasn’t come along, and it seems the Premier League sides were fed up of waiting, because journalist Sacha Tavolieri is now reporting that Denayer is set to sign with… Shabab Al-Ahli Club in Dubai.
It’s said the (now seemingly ex-) Wolves target is ‘flying out tonight at 9.45pm’ to head for his club, with still one final round of talks to take place there, but there would be ‘an agreement for a one-year contract’.
#BREAKING 🇧🇪
✈️🇦🇪 Jason #Denayer décolle ce soir sur les coups de 21:45 direction #ShababAlAhli à Dubaï !
✍🏼 Il reste encore un tour final des négociations à discuter sur place mais il y a un accord pour un contrat de 1 an.
🏥 Visite médicale prévue demain dans l’après-midi. pic.twitter.com/KPTjFqNsZ2
— Sacha Tavolieri (@sachatavolieri) September 26, 2022
In fact, a medical is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, meaning everything appears to be in order barring a few last details.
As for Wolves, they seem to have walked away, and the player who felt too good for the likes of Lyon, the Molineux side and Fulham now heads off to the Middle-East just before the World Cup.
The only logical (and we use the term loosely here) reasoning we can see here is that Roberto Martinez has already guaranteed him a place in his squad for the tournament, and Denayer is signing in Dubai as it’s just over an hour’s flight from Qatar.
Otherwise, why turn down a move to the Premier League, especially from clubs, like Wolves, who would have played him regularly?