According to Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, West Ham missed out on top midfield target and Anderlecht star Leander Dendoncker because they refused to meet the Jupiler League outfit’s demands on time.
The Hammers initially offered £4.4million upfront for the 22-year-old, with plans to pay £8.8million at the end of the campaign.
However, Anderlecht wanted nothing less than £17.6million in full for their most prized possession, and by the time West Ham returned with an improved bid on deadline day, it was too little too late.
Dendoncker missed training as he was ready to fly to London to complete a move, while his parents also pleaded with the club to allow him leave.
However, the Belgium giants feared an angry backlash from their fans if they sold the talented youngster on deadline day – when any replacement can’t be brought in on time.
West Ham will return for Dendoncker’s signature by summer, and while no hurdles are expected to hinder the move, the versatile midfielder will have to negotiate a release clause with his employers in order to leave for a fixed fee.
A new regime is set to take charge of Anderlecht next month, though, and things could even get trickier going forward.
