Leander Dendoncker’s deadline day was thought to have been all West Ham flavoured, with the Hammers said to have made two offers for the player on Wednesday.
West Ham had been linked for much of the month, with other Premier League clubs popping up now and again to join them. One club not really mentioned seriously in the Dendoncker race was Crystal Palace.
But Belgium’s Sporza have it differently, and they should know having spoken to Anderlecht general manager Herman Van Holsbeeck.
Sporza reveal Crystal Palace made a ‘good bid’ for Dendoncker on Wednesday night, but Anderlecht considered it all too late. Van Holsbeeck is quoted as saying: “Especially the time of the negotiations was unfortunate. If we had received that offer on January 2nd, we would have had a whole month to negotiate and find an alternative.
“Dendoncker has the potential to play in a better league, everyone knows, but negotiating on deadline day was not negotiable for the club, and I tried to explain that to him and his surroundings in a serene way.
“It’s now up to the player and the club to figure out how we will deal with that in the next five months, and tomorrow or Monday I will talk to him and his environment about it.”
A late Crystal Palace approach could make some sense, given the situation with Ibrahim Amadou. West Ham were also interested in the Lille player, but neither club could get a deal over the line.
The two London clubs were also keen on Russian striker Fedor Smolov from FK Krasnodar.
Sandor Varga, a well-known agent over in Russia, confirmed on Wednesday: “West Ham were after him. Crystal Palace too. I know for sure that Roy Hodgson was interested in Smolov.”
