Victor Wanyama has fallen down the pecking order at Tottenham. It remains to be seen whether he will manage to resurrect his career under new manager Jose Mourinho. The midfielder was linked with a move to Celtic in the summer, but nothing had materialised then.
Lennon was asked in the summer transfer window about the Kenyan midfielder to which he said (The Scottish 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.”
Danny Mills raises concerns over Celtic’s chances to get Wanyama
The former Hibernian manager didn’t completely rule out a January swoop for the midfielder but indicated that it could be tough for them. Former England international Danny Mills recently went on to say that the Hoops can face competition from Premier League clubs to sign Wanyama again.
Mills said to Football Insider (via The Express), ”There’s plenty of clubs that will be interested in his signature, to have that solid defensive midfield player. Teams anywhere from seventh down in the Premier League are thinking ‘Oh yes, he can do a job for us’.”
We agree with Mills that there could be significant interest from Premier League clubs if the midfielder is allowed to leave in January. Last season, Wanyama featured sporadically for Spurs, but he played some crucial games in the Champions League and showed his mettle in the middle.
Does Celtic need Wanyama?
Wanyama will undoubtedly bring more steel and quality in the middle. Wages are likely going to be an issue for the Hoops, and the player might have to take a significant pay cut if he decides to shift back to Parkhead. Given Wanyama’s quality, he will be expected to start regularly, but Celtic already have a superb midfield pairing of Scott Brown and Callum McGregor.
Wanyama can probably give someone like Scott Brown a breather, and Lennon can have more options in the middle. However, it is unlikely that the club captain will sit out a lot of games. Nir Bitton and Olivier Ntcham can also do a job in the middle, so we don’t see the need for going after Wanyama.
Fitting him in for high wages could disturb the wage structure at the club. Hence, Celtic missing out on Wanyama wouldn’t be a big blow for them. We don’t see Lennon being too disappointed or worried if one of the Premier League clubs go and get him in January.
