Tottenham Hotspur’s Victor Wanyama was a target for Club Brugge in the final weeks of the European window, but they failed to get the deal over the line.
On Monday, Het Nieuwsblad reported Brugge had an ‘agreement in principle’ with Mauricio Pochettino’s side and the Kenya international for some time, but additional demands made by the latter forced them to look elsewhere.
Het Belang van Limburg also claims the two clubs had agreed a deal but provide strange reasons as to why the transfer did not take shape.
Serie A side Bologna showed interest in the Kenya international on August 22nd and a day later, the Belgian club offered him a five-year deal.
The 28-year-old took some time because he wanted to discuss about a move to Brugge with his family in Kenya. The latter were not keen on the transfer as they didn’t know more about the Jupiler Pro League.
Wanyama was initially set to arrive in Belgium to hold talks with Brugge on August 25, but a no show forced their manager Philippe Clement to call the midfielder. It flattered the player enormously.
A few days later, Wanyama received blessings from his family and even agreed a contract with Brugge. He was also set to fly to Belgium to complete a switch.
Brugge even made a private jet available, but Wanyama decided against boarding due to a fear of crossing the Channel by plane.
Het Belang Van Limburg state the fatal accident involving Emiliano Sala earlier this year ‘frightened’ the defensive midfielder, which led to him wanting to travel by train to Brugge.
The ‘death blow’ in the operation, however, was the ‘contractual dispute’ between Tottenham and Wanyama, as Daniel Levy wanted the Belgian side to pay the player the backlog of money he was owed by Spurs.
The Kenyan then asked for more, including an extra year of contract and full medical insurance, at which point Brugge got ‘fed up’ with the whole thing.
HBVL claim the Jupiler Pro League club told them: “You can lower your pants a bit, but there are limits”.
And that was the end of Wanyama to Brugge.
