Maybe. I got the impression he was never seriously interested in moving to us. If he was that keen he would have signed whether he had a release clause or not.
There doesn't appear to be an upside to release clauses. If the player turns out to be crap no-one is going to pay it anyway and if the player is brilliant then a bigger club is getting a bargain. If the player wants to leave they may well throw a strop irrespective of whether they have a...