According to the reports from the Mirror, Celtic are eyeing a move for Victor Wanyama. Tottenham Hotspur are willing to let the midfielder leave for any club who decides to pay £8m as his transfer fee. Spurs are also ready to send him away on loan but for a loan fee of £1.5m and that will come with an obligation to buy in the summer. Lazio and Galatasaray are also said to be interested in signing the midfielder.
Even with Wanyama’s price tag going down further, we believe that the Hoops are unlikely to go after him. The Kenyan midfielder has fallen down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho, and he is quite clearly not in the plans of the club anymore. The midfielder has made just four appearances in all competitions this season, and there seems to be no way back for him in Spurs’ midfield.
Lennon’s earlier comments on Wanyama
Lennon had already commented about Wanyama earlier this month. The Celtic boss had said (Daily Record), “He’s in my thoughts but could we afford him? I doubt it very much. The problem is where to fit him in. I don’t think that’s going to be an option.”
Reports mention that Wanyama’s wages are around £70,000/week and we don’t see Celtic pulling strings to bring in the midfielder in this window for that kind of salary and price tag. Lennon also talked about the problem of fitting him in as Celtic have a settled midfield partnership at the moment.
Why is Wanyama unlikely to arrive?
Callum McGregor and Scott Brown have been relatively consistent this season. Brown has continued to be a strong influence in midfield even though he is 34 now. Celtic also have a talented option in Olivier Ntcham who can play in different roles in the middle. Moreover, Celtic signed Ismaila Soro in the January window who is a defensive midfielder by trade. Hence, we don’t see the Hoops going out of their way to bring in Wanyama.
The African midfielder would undoubtedly bring more quality, experience and physicality in the middle. Wanyama’s presence could also help Celtic in the Europa League games where they would come up against much better opposition, and Lennon might want to play two defensive midfielders in Brown and Wanyama together.
However, Lennon will not bring in a player for £8m for just a few games. The arrival of Wanyama will also not be a good sign for Soro who might feel that the club isn’t confident about him. Hence, in terms of finances and fitting in, Wanyama’s transfer to Celtic seems like a long shot.
