Soccer Football - Champions League - Group A - Club Brugge v RB Leipzig - Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges, Belgium - November 24, 2021 RB Leipzig's Konrad Laimer in action with Club Brugge's Hans Vanaken REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
West Ham United are preparing a third offer for Club Brugge midfielder Hans Vanaken, according to the Daily Mail.Â
The lowdown: One in
This comes after the Hammers all but completed the arrival of Lucas Paqueta in a £51million switch from French Ligue 1 outfit Lyon (Sky Sports).
The 24-year-old looks set to become the eighth new arrival of the summer into David Moyes’ ranks as the Scot looks to kickstart a dismal Premier League campaign so far.
However, the incomings may not be finished there as a fresh claim has emerged suggesting that the Irons won’t give up their pursuit of Vanaken despite the capture of Paqueta…
The latest: Third bid
As per the Daily Mail online, West Ham are understood to be readying a third offer to sign the 30-year-old Belgium international as their ninth addition.
It’s claimed that Vanaken is ‘desperate to link up’ with Moyes in east London and as such, an improved bid is in the offing having previously seen £11million rejected.
The report states that the Brugge club captain – who was hailed as an ‘incredible player’ by coach Carl Hoefkins – ‘wants the chance to play in the Premier League’ and could be on the move before the September 1 deadline.
The verdict: Go for it
Although the work done by Moyes since his reappointment has been nothing short of miraculous, one criticism has been a lack of recruitment in order to improve the strength in depth at the London Stadium.
Should Paqueta arrive as is now expected and Vanaken follow suit, then the midfield department at least would be well-stocked and ready to take on the entire 2022/23 campaign and any challenges it has to offer.
So far this term, the towering Belgian has earned a superb 7.22 SofaScore rating whilst winning 6.8 duels, successfully completing 1.3 dribbles and making 2.5 key passes on average per game in the Jupiler Pro League, demonstrating impressive defensive and attacking acumen.
That form, combined with 523 domestic matches worth of experience and a relatively low fee, makes Vanaken a potentially brilliant signing for West Ham.
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