Online Reporter
MOTHERWELL manager Jens Berthel Askou has confirmed they rejected deadline-day interest in Zimbabwean striker Tawanda Maswanhise.
The Fir Park boss revealed the 18-goal forward has been chased by clubs from around the world.
Anderlecht, Celtic and Blackburn Rovers had all been heavily linked with the Zimbabwe star.
But Well boss Askou insists the club never came close to cashing in on star man Maswanhise.
He said: “Tawanda has attracted an extreme amount of interest from all over the world – and from the UK.
“There have been offers but they have been at an amount that is nowhere near the valuation put on him.
“It has been very easy to say, ‘Well no, now is not the time to sell’.
“Did anyone try late on? Yes, but there was no discussion.
“The plan was never for him to leave now.
“It wasn’t me who needed backing. It was a club decision – we want to see if we can build on the momentum and the squad we have.
“Tawanda is really happy. I have had contact with him throughout the window and he had a big smile at training on Tuesday.
“He is excited to kick on and maybe a bit relieved that there will be no speculation about that any more.
“He is happy to be here. He knows the best chance to be top scorer in Scotland is to be here.
“We have good open dialogue with the players and we make plans for them and with them.
“We will make sure they develop while they are here and then find the right moment for them to leave.
“He’s happy, we are happy and it hasn’t been complicated.”
Askou expects even more interest in Maswanhise come the summer, when clubs from “bigger markets” could well be shopping around.
Askou said: “We absolutely expect that to be the case.
“We also expect clubs to start coming in earlier as they will have to be in a little bit better time than some were now.
“The interest is only going up for him – because he’s a good player and he will keep scoring goals and developing.
“The summer window is also usually a little bigger and all eyes are on him.
“More clubs will be interested in him, probably in bigger markets.
“So I expect it to be a busy summer around him.” – thescottishsun.co.uk
