Victor Wanyama’s situation at Tottenham Hotspur continues to see him stagnate, and that could be good news for Celtic.
The Kenyan powerhouse once again missed out on Spurs’ matchday squad to face Everton yesterday. Despite not having any reported injuries, Wanyama has now missed six consecutive matchday squads.
As it stands, he’s still only made three appearances this season. One of those was a 90-minute run-out against Colchester United, whilst the other two have been 23 and one-minute cameos against Leicester and Southampton respectively.
Wanyama continues to be so far down the pecking order at Spurs, despite having a contract there until the summer of 2021 (Transfermarkt).
But this could work out well for Celtic if we do decide to move for him.
This isn’t a deal that’s totally out of the question
It’s worth remembering that Wanyama himself told Fraser Forster to keep his jersey warm for him (Scottish Sun). Of course it was likely tongue-in-cheek, but there’s surely a small interest from the Kenyan in a Parkhead return. A return to a place where he was much-adored and not made a scapegoat.
And even though his deal has just under another two years to run on it, that’s not exactly bad news for Celtic. If we could secure a loan deal until the end of the season in January, what’s to stop us from trying to nab him in a cut-price deal?
Spurs only paid £11million to sign him in the first place (BBC). And having a player in the final year of his contract, they would expect to lose some money on him. Celtic would, of course, have to show some ambition, but this deal looks as realistic as it’s ever going to get.
Wanyama looks a better option than Stuart Armstrong
There is the other option of going for Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong. However, the midfielder appears to have been given the chance of a renaissance with the St Mary’s side. He started against Manchester City on Saturday and set up Saints’ goal with a fine strike.
That appearance also came after another 90-minute outing against City in the League Cup last week. All of a sudden, Ralph Hasenhuttle has given him an opportunity.
You can even argue that the centre of midfield isn’t an area we need to strengthen. After all, we have Scott Brown, Callum McGregor, Olivier Ntcham, Nir Bitton, Eboue Kouassi, and Luca Connell all fighting it out. But can we just ignore a Wanyama-type player if he becomes available?
His situation continues to worsen at Spurs, and it feels mad not to ask the question in January. Hopefully, this is something Neil Lennon revisits.
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