It was just a couple of weeks ago that Belgian manager Wouter Vrancken was heavily linked with a move to Barnsley.
While the Championship side were looking for a new manager, it was claimed they approached KV Mechelen for their boss, and weren’t successful in their attempt.
Now in an interview with Extra Time, Vrancken confirmed that there was the contact from Barnsley, but the problem was that the Belgian side did not even let him speak about a potential move.
“The Championship is a great competition. It’s among the most beautiful competitions in the world,” Vrancken told VRT’s Extra Time (via GVA).
“It is also a new market that you can tap into as a coach. There are very few clubs that’s why they look at Belgium. Philippe has won three consecutive titles in Belgium and yet the interest from England remains limited. I don’t know if I would’ve wanted to. That had yet to become apparent, but Mechelen immediately made it clear that there was no talking.”
Despite claiming he’s happy to stay at the Belgian side, the manager claimed he was ‘disappointed’ with the way the club blocked him from talking.
“I was disappointed in that, but not in the fact that I’m still at Mechelen. But if you’ve been working together for almost four years, you’re certainly doing something for each other.”
Vrancken has been in charge of Mechelen since the summer of 2018, and holds a record of 62 wins in 119 games at the club.
Following their unsuccessful attempt to sign the 42-year-old Barnsley then ended up announcing Poya Asbaghi as their new manager.
The Iran-born coach made his debut against Fulham at Craven Cottage last week, with the home side winning 4-1.
