Recent media speculation suggest that West Ham United could be preparing to make a bid for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Victor Wanyama once the January transfer window opens.

It could be an ideal move if The Hammers can pull it off.

The Kenyan has yet to start for Spurs this season in the Premier League and it’s believed that Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is ready to cash in on the player after numerous injury problems in the last eighteen or so months.

At the moment the midfielder finds himself behind Mousa Dembele and Eric Dier in the midfield pecking order. The former Southampton and Celtic man has also played less league minutes than youngster Harry Winks. Even the previously lamented Moussa Sissoko is getting more game time than the African midfielder.

A change could be just what Wanyama needs to get his career back on track. Victor needs a run of games to get back to full fitness, yet he hasn’t even been on the bench for Spurs’ last two league fixtures. The Kenyan captain has been restricted to cup games and at twenty seven years of age you’ve got to imagine he’ll want more game time than that.

At his best the midfielder can be a tenacious midfield enforcer who wins the ball for his team and efficiently keeps the ball by finding more creative players with his passes. In the 2016-17 season, when Wanyama was a regular starter for Tottenham, he was averaging 87.5% passing success rates, making around 2.5 tackles per game and winning 1.7 aerial duels.

That solid defensive type midfielder could do West Ham the world of good at the moment.

There’s no doubt that young Declan Rice is talented but he can be overrun at times and he’s still lacking experience and that could prove to be problematic in important, high pressured games down the line. Spurs middle-man Wanyama has plenty of top flight experience; shining in the Champions League and helping his side to top four finishes.

Both Mark Noble and the currently injured Jack Wilshere don’t really have the legs needed to track back and challenge in a way that The Hammers need.

When you play a high defensive line, like Manuel Pellegrini’s teams do, then you need to have disciplined midfielders in place to help shore things up and win the ball back further up the field.

Victor would add height and presence, that would be advantageous when dealing with set-pieces in either box. He’s also super disciplined when it comes to holding position and clearing from dangerous positions. Having him in The Irons midfield, marshalling, could allow more creative stars like Felipe Anderson and Mikel Antonio more freedom to attack opponents.

West Ham United have been brave in the last transfer window but they haven’t managed to completely tighten up their midfield department. Having an experience winner and battler like Victor Wanyama in the squad could help lay the defensive foundations that will then allow other members of the team to play the West Ham way!

Posted on November 2nd, 2018 by scott
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