Midfielder Raphael Onyedika will now have to wait for a big transfer after he was linked with a move to the Premier League with also interest from Saudi Arabia as well as rumours connecting him with even mighty Barcelona.
At the end of last season, Het Laatste Nieuws reported that Onyedika will leave Club Brugge this summer ‘with a probability bordering on certainty’.
At the beginning of August, the newspaper reported that Onyedika, along with Andreas Skov Olsen, is the man who has to make a transfer this summer.
“That chance is real,” said Nicky Hayen after the match against Standard. Today it appears that the chance that Onyedika will still play for Club Brugge in September is getting smaller by the day.
According to Het Nieuwsblad, Club Brugge is in talks with clubs from Saudi Arabia and the Premier League.
Onyedika will have to make a choice between the sporting and financial picture. The transfer price will depend on the offers and the choice that Onyedika and his entourage make.
Although Club Brugge hope for the aforementioned 20 Million Euros, Het Nieuwsblad said that it is not certain that this amount will actually be achieved.
Club Brugge were determined to sell Raphael Onyedika in the summer transfer window, but now appear to have changed their minds. Although the original target price was at least 20 Million Euros, Club Brugge would in fact have received much less than hoped.
According to Het Laatste Nieuws, the board in Westkapelle has decided not to sell the Nigerian stalwart this summer.
After the disappointing start of the season, it has become clear that the sporting value of the 23-year-old Onyedika is greater than the financial return of a possible transfer.
The sports staff and the board realised that the best periods of the past two seasons – in particular the impressive Champions League campaign under Carl Hoefkens and the strong play-offs of last season – always coincided with Onyedika in top form.
That is why he is now being taken out of the showcase and can only leave if a team is prepared to pay at least 20 Million Euros.
Club Brugge hope that he will stay for an extra season, although this will significantly increase the competition in midfield.
Adapted from Voetbalnieuws.be