Club Brugge midfielder Hans Vanaken has insisted the World Cup was not a big factor in his decision to turn down West Ham United this summer.
The Hammers were keen on the Belgian midfielder once again, having been linked to him for the past few years.
A bid was submitted but Brugge refused to do business, with it explained that West Ham didn’t get close to their valuation.
They maintained their refusal to do a deal despite reports making it clear that Vanaken was open to the move as he saw it as his last shot at playing Premier League football.
He’s since signed a new contract with the Belgian side and spoken about the situation, insisting that he preferred to stay where he was.
Logically that would be because he has more of a chance of being in Roberto Martinez’s World Cup squad if he is starring with Brugge and not part of a West Ham squad that is currently struggling.
He, though, insists that the World Cup did not come into his thinking when he considered the offer from the London Stadium.
“I didn’t think very much about that while deciding whether to stay or leave,” Voetbal Primeur report him saying.
“It was a personal feeling to decide what was the right thing for me. But the World Cup was not a determining factor in that.”
