Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 8y

Vincent Janssen not close to Tottenham transfer - AZ Alkmaar

AZ Alkmaar sporting director Max Huiberts says they have "heard nothing" from Tottenham Hotspur since rejecting the Premier League club's opening bid for striker Vincent Janssen.

Janssen has accused AZ of blocking his "dream transfer" after the Dutch club rejected a bid of €18 million from Spurs, but earlier this week sources told ESPN FC that a fresh bid in the region of €20 million was set to be accepted.

The 22-year-old has already visited Hotspur Way, Spurs' North London training centre, to discuss personal terms and Spurs officials, including chairman Daniel Levy, have travelled to the Netherlands for transfer talks.

However, Huiberts played down suggestions that Janssen, who finished last season as the Eredivisie's top scorer with 27 goals in 34 games, is on the verge of moving to White Hart Lane.

"There is a lot of speculation and I read a lot of nonsense stories," Huiberts told local newspaper Noordholland Dagblad.

"We once received a bid from Tottenham Hotspur. That we have not accepted. That's not so strange to me. It is not often that a club agrees immediately with a first offer. Then we heard nothing more."

AZ are close to signing Heracles Almelo forward Wout Weghorst, a possible replacement for Janssen, but Huiberts says they have no intention of approaching Spurs to reopen talks.

He said: "No, that's not us. If you want to buy something, you have to go to the store. The store does not belong to you. Yes, earlier, the SRV car. But that already runs to me for a while longer."

Weghorst's arrival will leave AZ with three strikers and Huiberts said that Robert Muhren, who acted as understudy to Janssen last season, could be the player to depart.

"That's what we wanted," Huiberts added. "Should Janssen or Muhren leave, then we look further. He [Mühren] does us no way. But if Robert wants to leave because he sees little chance for himself, that is negotiable."

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