Hans Vanaken labelled as ‘gutless’ after failed West Ham move

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Club Brugge have been criticised for failing to sell Hans Vanaken to West Ham in the summer of 2022.

Football analyst for Voetbal Nieuws Aad de Mos has delivered his verdict on West Ham missing out on the signing of Hans Vanaken last summer.

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Hammers boss David Moyes wanted to bring the 30-year-old to the London Stadium according to the likes of Het Nieuwsblad.

However, Club Brugge’s £17 million demands for Vanaken were said to be out of our reach at the time.

And it seems as though West Ham did the right thing by not caving to the Belgian outfit’s demands…

Club Brugge hammered for not selling Hans Vanaken to West Ham

Football analyst for Voetbal Nieuws Aad de Mos wrote his regular column for the Belgian newspaper and discussed Vankaken’s season with Club Brugge.

And he criticised the Belgian side for not selling the 30-year-old to the Hammers before the start of this season:

“Brugge insisted on keeping him in front of West Ham here. Vanaken is one of those typical Belgian guys who likes it on the beach of Knokke, but who furthermore lacks the guts – no balls. Maybe you got rid of the wrong one with De Ketelaere then and kept the wrong one with Vanaken.”

The 30-year-old actually hasn’t been that bad this season, with nine goals and five assists to his name (Transfermarkt), so those words are a little harsh in my opinion.

Vanaken isn’t a bad player at all. In fact, he has been described as ‘outstanding’ by TEAMtalk. Meanwhile, Club Brugge coach Carl Hoefkins has labelled him as ‘incredible’ (Walfoot).

Having said that, I am pleased that Moyes didn’t sign him. Swapping the Belgian league for the Premier League would have been a huge ask in my opinion.

The West Ham transfer policy should be to sign the very best young players coming through he ranks across the continent, and Hans Vanaken obviously doesn’t fit into that category.

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