West Ham have had a bid rejected for Club Brugge's Hans Vanaken, according to Sky Sports News

The lowdown

Vanaken, 29, is primarily an attacking midfielder, but he can also operate from a slightly deeper role in the middle of the park or in a variety of attacking roles on the flanks and behind the striker.

The versatile 29-year-old has three years left on his contract with the reigning Jupiler Pro League champions Brugge.

He's been with the club since 2015, but Sky Sports report he's now thought to want a move to the Premier League.

The latest

SSN revealed live on air on Tuesday morning that West Ham have been unsuccessful with an offer of roughly £8.4million.

"Some breaking news just reaching us concerning a player we mentioned earlier on this hour.

"Club Brugge have rejected West Ham United's opening offer for the midfielder Hans Vanaken.

"The bid for this one [is] thought to be in the region of about €10million."

Continued: "Growing belief the player wants to play in the Premier League, but we're just hearing that has been rejected."

[web_stories_embed url="https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-updates-2/" title="West Ham latest updates!" poster="" width="360" height="600" align="none"]

The verdict

West Ham should be wary of overpaying Vanaken, purely on the basis that he'll turn 30 on 24 August, at which point he'll be leaving his theoretical peak window.

But a slightly improved bid is advisable, because this is a deal that would significantly improve West Ham's depth as they potentially embark on another European campaign.

He scored 15 goals and provided 12 assists for Brugge in all competitions last season, netting three times in the Champions League group stages (against Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and RB Leipzig - quite the level of competition).

Vanaken has also made his mark at international level, notching 21 caps, five goals and six assists for one of the best sides in the world in Belgium.

Sports journalist Josh Bunting has hailed him as a 'catalyst' and a 'real stern leader', and those are qualities David Moyes might relish too.