Club Brugge midfielder Hans Vanaken has insisted that he couldn’t ask West Ham United to pay €25m for him in the summer, because of his age.
Vanaken was again heavily linked with a move to West Ham throughout the summer transfer window, having been named as a potential target for the Hammers for the best part of three years.
David Moyes is believed to be a big fan of the Belgian midfielder and has been trying to sign him without ever getting a deal over the line.
He instead decided to spend big on Brazilian Lucas Paqueta in the summer, electing to move for the Lyon star after more talks for Vanaken had fallen by the wayside.
The midfielder has openly admitted he would be keen on the switch more than once but elected to sign a new deal in August last year, extending his stay until 2027.
He’s now been asked about what happened and admits he simply couldn’t ask West Ham to pay what was needed given his age.
“That’s always a tricky situation,” he told Het Laatste Nieuws.
“He (Moyes) did call sometimes. But yes, what does someone like that say. ‘We want you; you can do this and that well’. I hesitated because it was the third year in a row they called.
“That expressed confidence. I felt it was my last chance…. Look: at the end of the day, the three parties have to benefit and that was not the case.
“They didn’t want to pay enough. Well, I can hardly set my own price, lol. We indicated what we wanted. Club has the right to say what they think is a correct price. Fortunately, I can conclude something like that quickly.
“I can’t expect them to lay down €25m for a 30-year-old. We said: ‘Make an offer, maybe Bruges will say it’s good’. We were never at the stage where they were short.”
