According to a report published by The Sun, Victor Wanyama could be returning to Celtic Park after a notable six-year absence in the Bhoys shirt. The player last left Celtic to join Southampton in 2013 for a £12.5 million fee.
Wanyama has been an instrumental part of the Tottenham Hotspur side over the years but has seemingly fallen down the pecking order. The player started last season with an injury that he picked up in a pre-season clash against FC Barcelona. Things have never really been the same ever since for the first Kenyan to feature in a Premier League fixture.
Wanyama nearly sealed his Premier League exit towards the end of August and seemed destined to join FC Brugge. Celtic were heavily linked with signing Wanyama after Belgian side, FC Brugge failed to secure the services of the Kenyan midfielder. However, a deal failed to materialise for the Hoops as well, and Wanyama could once again be on Neil Lennon’s radar in January.
In a recent interview, Lennon revealed that the Celtic were indeed interested in signing Wanyama from Tottenham, but the interest was not concrete enough. The 48-year-old manager has also stated the deal could be revisited once negotiations formally open in the winter transfer window.
Neil Lennon has been quoted saying by The Sun –
“There was interest but it never got off the ground. Could we look at it again in January? We’ll have to wait and see. We might not want to with the balance of the squad now, as well as the affordability.”
Would the signing of Wanyama actually make sense for Celtic?
Affordability
Victor Wanyama’s transfer to Club Brugge was reportedly agreed for a fee of £13 million before the player failed to agree on personal terms. Spurs would probably not be willing to sell Wanyama for anything less than the £13 million mark.
It will be interesting to see if Celtic would be interested in spending that sort of money on a player who has had only 12 Premier League starts over the course of two seasons. Wanyama has had all kinds of problems with his knee, and that is one of the prime reasons for his decline at Tottenham.
Squad Balance
As Celtic manager Neil Lennon rightly pointed out, it would be difficult to understand where Wanyama would slot in at Celtic Park. Keeping in mind the fact that Celtic have been an unstoppable force domestically, Wanyama’s addition would only complicate things for the Scottish side.
It would be interesting to see if things actually work out in January, and Wanyama is allowed to make a fairy-tale return to the side that helped him achieve fame.
