Wanyama moving to Belgium

Tottenham Hotspur's Victor Wanyama celebrates scoring

Friday Aug 23, 2019. 14:00

Belgium’s Club Brugges and UEFA Champions League runners-up Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement for the sale of Kenya captain Victor Wanyama but personal terms must still be settled before the move can go through, sources closed to the transfer said on Friday.

The two clubs have agreed a 10-million euro fee for the 28-year-old midfielder, who Bruges are targeting to boost their squad as they stand on the brink of qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League.

The 10-million fee is an immediate payment and could rise by 50 percent depending on how Bruges do in the Champions League as a bonus payment structure has bene built into the deal.

If it does, it will be the most expensive purchase by a Belgian club. The record is the 12,6-million euro that Standard Liege paid Italy’s Inter Milan for Zinho Vanheusden last month.

The Belgians, runners-up in the league last season, lead LASK Linz 1-0 after the first leg of their playoff tie in Austria on Tuesday. The return is in Bruges next Tuesday.

Bruges are hoping that Wanyama will agree personal terms over the weekend and be available to make his debut on Tuesday.

But sources said that there is still much negotiations to be done on salary demands. Wanyama earns almost 4-million euro a year at Tottenham and wants a similar deal, which is a lot more than the Belgians are offering.

But Bruges will certainly be able to afford him if they qualify for the Champions League, which will earn the club an extra 25-million euros revenue.

Wanyama has battled with knee injuries over the last two seasons and has been looking for a move away from the Premier League, where he is no longer able to train or play at high intensity.

He had been liked with a move to China last month but that fell through.

Wanyama, who was an unused substitute in Spurs’ defeat by Liverpool in May’s Champions League final, previously spent three years at the now defunct Germinal Beerschot before moving to Glasgow Celtic in 2011.

One of his teammates at Beerschot was Philippe Clement, now the coach of Bruges.