Blondel quits Tottenham for Bruges
BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) -- Jonathan Blondel has joined Club Bruges on a four-and-a-half year contract after an unsuccessful time in England with Tottenham.
"This season manager David Pleat wanted to put me out on loan with a second division English club but I refused," Blondel was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
"This is a great move for me. I had no future with Tottenham and I really wanted to return to Belgium where I started and join a club like Bruges."
The 19-year-old was signed by ex-Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle in July 2002 for 900,000 pounds ($1.65m) after establishing himself as one of Belgium's most promising youngsters.
He captained the Belgium youth team and reached the Cup final with Excelsior Mouscron in 2002, scoring in the 3-1 defeat by Club Bruges.
Blondel was restricted to 10 minutes of Premier League action under Hoddle last season and missed the start of the current campaign after breaking a finger in training. He has since made only three appearances, two of them in the League Cup.
Speaking on the club's website, Pleat said: "Although we had high hopes for Jonathan he's found it very difficult to settle and we all feel he will benefit from a move back home."
Blondel joins Bruges's other winter signings Bosko Balaban from Aston Villa and Brazilian Victor.
Mornar moving to England
Belgians Anderlecht, meanwhile, agreed to sell Croatian international striker Ivica Mornar to Premier League Portsmouth.
The 30-year-old, who has scored 10 league goals this season, signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the option of an extra year for a fee of 700,000 euros according to Anderlecht.
Former Hajduk Split, Eintracht Franfurt, Sevilla, Orense and Standard Liege player Mornar recently turned down a contract extension which would have kept him at his club until 2006.
Portsmouth, who were promoted last year, are 17th in the 20-team Premiership and chief executive Peter Storrie left on Monday for a trip to France and Belgium in an effort to reinforce the club's attack.
A spokesman at the club said on Wednesday that he expected Mornar to arrive in England for a medical in the next couple of days.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
