After Vincent Janssen went public with his frustrations over a Tottenham Hotspur transfer, his club AZ have had their own say. Janssen believes Spurs have offered around €18m for him, and he thinks this should be enough, but AZ clearly disagree.
Speaking to AD, AZ’s technical director Max Huiberts said: “We have done extensive research to approximate the market value of Vincent, with people who understand it, for example.
“We have ambition at AZ and want to belong to the top four in the Netherlands, so it does not help if we sell our players. Vincent signed a contract here a year ago for three years. Basically, we do not want to lose him.”
AD say AZ have been taking advice from Billy Beane, a baseball guru who they say also has knowledge of the Premier League. That advice so far has obviously been that Tottenham’s bid is too low.
In essence, Vincent Janssen is worth whatever AZ want for the player, regardless of what any outside experts think. If AZ want it to be €30m or no sale, then that’s the way it is, Janssen has a contract with the club until 2019 so there’s little he can do.
A threat to misbehave may well harm his own career as much as improve his chances of getting a transfer, so it’s not always the case that footballers can get their own way.
However, that AZ have gone public about trying to reach a transfer fee would suggest a Janssen sale is very possible, and not at too ridiculous a fee. The pain threshold for AZ is likely to not be too much higher than what Spurs have put forward already.
