The Daily Telegraph - Sport

Tottenham in talks to sell £11m Wanyama to Brugge

- By Matt Law

Tottenham Hotspur are in talks to sell Victor Wanyama to Club Brugge before the Belgian transfer window shuts, and they hope to recoup the £11 million they paid for the midfielder.

Brugge want to sign 28-year-old Wanyama before the Sept 2 deadline and have money to spend after selling striker Wesley and midfielder Marvelous Nakamba to Aston Villa for a combined £33 million.

Nakamba’s sale has left Brugge in need of a defensive midfielder and the club have already shown their willingnes­s to spend by signing goalkeeper Simon Mignolet from Liverpool this summer.

Spurs bought Wanyama for £11 million three years ago, when the Kenyan had only a year left on his Southampto­n contract. Wanyama still has two years left on his Spurs deal, though he has slipped down manager Mauricio Pochettino’s pecking order and struggled with injuries.

It is unclear whether Brugge want to sign Wanyama permanentl­y or take him on loan with a commitment to buy.

Meanwhile, Spurs plan to refinance about £400 million of their stadium debt through bonds issued via a private placement arranged by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The club originally took out a £400 million five-year loan from BAML, Goldman Sachs and HSBC in 2017 to finance the constructi­on of their £1 billion new stadium. Last year, Spurs confirmed that the loan had increased to £637 million as costs rose.

The bonds will have maturities ranging from 15 to 30 years and will be targeted at institutio­nal investors in the United States, extending the debt’s maturity profile.

 ??  ?? Out of favour: Victor Wanyama has fallen down the pecking order at Tottenham
Out of favour: Victor Wanyama has fallen down the pecking order at Tottenham

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