Player Watch: Victor Wanyama

[Spurrific]

While I agree that using 'he's played for Poch before' shouldn't be used as the only argument for the signing of Wanyama, I don't agree with your last sentence. Surely the fact that Wanyama has been successful for Southampton suggests the signing was not a 'mistake'? I don't see the point you're trying to make- are you saying signing Wanyama for Spurs would be a mistake, or Poch made a mistake in bringing him to Southampton...?

I think it's a fair argument to say that the chances of the transfer not being a mistake are higher given that Pochettino has managed him before.

The last sentence has nothing to do with Wanyama. I'm saying that Poch has made mistakes in the past in the transfer market and he will make them again. Every manager does.

 

[Monkey boy]

He played at centre-back in Scotland more than once and was very good at it. He could do a job there, too, if required.

TBF I could play centre back in Scotland and be good at it.

 

[Annekcma]

The most tiresome point people make on this site is "he's played for Poch before". So what? He played with 10 different players, for a different team entirely. Having played for Poch before is not a valid reason to sign somebody on its own and it doesn't completely overrule doubts individual posters have about his ability. To use that as some sort of all-encompassing argument to counter somebody else's point is simplistic.

Poch isn't flawless. He has made and will make mistakes in the transfer market.

Of course it isn't. Which is why multiple times throughout this thread it has been mentioned that he was signed by Poch (indicates Poch rated him), he played well under Poch(indicates Poch liked him), he played regularly under Poch(indicates Poch rated his performances). Then when you factor in how he has continued to play well following Poch leaving, his low price, his age and experience, all of these point to him being a positive signing.

 

[SpartanSpur]

I think the comparison to someone like Bazoer, who is almost unanimously wanted in his thread is interesting. He is not a DM at all, in fact whoscored list tackling as one of his statistical weaknesses. He is an all rounder and an exceptional young talent but I genuinely think we need another midfielder with the full suite of defensive abilities such as tackling, cutting pass lanes, etc...

I'd take Bazoer all day as an upgrade on Mason and Bentaleb but like both of them he's the kind that plays well (IMHO) alongside a DM rather than as a DM. Wanyama on the other hand gives you that vital defensive cover. It's no surprise that modern International and European teams have been littered with 'limited' defensive players. It's more the intangible stuff like defensive positioning and sensing danger that makes all the difference. It's an area we have to bolster if we want to compete on all fronts. After striker cover, actual DM is comfortably our weakest area in the squad IMHO.

 

[worcestersauce]

The fact that he has played for Poch before and that Poch wants him again simply tells us that Poch knows that he can do exactly the job Poch wants him to do, that is the real point whether Poch rates him highly or not.

 

[Danny B]

TBF I could play centre back in Scotland and be good at it.

While I am all too aware that the standard is not great up here, it doesn't necessarily follow that just because someone is good in a certain position it doesn't mean they can't be good in that position in England.

Stan Petrov was an attacking midfielder at Celtic and morphed into a defensive midfielder at Villa because the standard was better. Whereas Virgil Van Dijk has probably looked better at centre-back for Southampton than he did for Celtic. The standard is not great but that doesn't mean there aren't some good players here who would be capable of doing a job down south (fast diminishing though).

 

[Nigel Spinal]

The fact that he has played for Poch before and that Poch wants him again simply tells us that Poch knows that he can do exactly the job Poch wants him to do, that is the real point whether Poch rates him highly or not.

Does Poch absolutely want him? Or does he know that Wanyama being cheap means he's got more chance of getting the CF he wants without breaking the zero net spend restriction?

 

[daehanmingook]

Does Poch absolutely want him? Or does he know that Wanyama being cheap means he's got more chance of getting the CF he wants without breaking the zero net spend restriction?

I doubt it's all about the money.. if you wanted cheap options, there are cheaper than wanyama. But keeping the budget in mind is definitely going to he a factor. So probably what poch n co are thinking is let's get in a solid DM option for a reasonable price which still allows for nice offensive player(s). Meaning, yes, wanyama might actually be a player poch wants while also keeping levy happy

 

[Hoopspur]

If Poch does genuinely want him (we were rumoured to be interested 12 and 6 months ago after all), then it's because he thinks he could do a good job for Spurs. It is also a testament to Poch's philosophy and he thinks Wanyama fits this. He knows first hand what the player's attitude is like - something none of us probably do. That is where the argument about having played for him before mounts up.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Wanyama's not going to be cheap.

 

[worcestersauce]

Does Poch absolutely want him? Or does he know that Wanyama being cheap means he's got more chance of getting the CF he wants without breaking the zero net spend restriction?

I'm of the opinion that if Poch didn't want him him he wouldn't have him.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

That's got nothing to do with you saying he wasn't very good in games you've never seen, the other cl games

No that's fair, but I did qualify it with the subsequent post and accept I hadn't made my point very well.

 

[allatsea]

Does Poch absolutely want him? Or does he know that Wanyama being cheap means he's got more chance of getting the CF he wants without breaking the zero net spend restriction?

How long is a piece of string is another question that cannot be answered.

 

[wrd]

I watched the Barca and Juve games and a fair few of his EPL games and I've not seen the Same quality of footballing influence you seem to have. He's a robust defensive presence for sure, but the rest of his game is pretty ordinary, at times in this league even s bit rudimentary IMO.

Be honest you just don't like players like this do you, I remember you complaining early in the season that we were too defensive with Dier. I do think we need players like this and 20 points dropped from winning positions this season, it wouldn't hurt to have Wanyama on the bench to bring on late in a game.

 

[Joshua]

Wanyama's not going to be cheap.

Last year of his contract. Won't be mega bucks.

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

How long is a piece of string is another question that cannot be answered.

Imperial or metric?

But surely it's twice as long as half its length?

 

[bryanabutler]

If we sign Wanyama, my 10 would be

--------Dier------------Dembele
----(Wanyama)------(Bentaleb) mine would be

-Lamela-------Alli-------Eriksen Dier------------- Dembele
-(Njie)------(Mason)----(Son)
Diawara--------Dahoud
with Winks and Onomah as 5th/7th choice

and Chadli, Carroll, Pritchard, Ball and Ward moved on.

 

[Nigel Spinal]

Wanyama's not going to be cheap.

Should be under £10m, considering he can sign a pre-contract with another club on 1 January.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Last year of his contract. Won't be mega bucks.

Should be under £10m, considering he can sign a pre-contract with another club on 1 January.

It's Southampton, who hate us. If it was any other player, then I wouldn't even expect us to sign them. But because Wanyama only has 1 year left on his contract, in this scenario it makes more sense to sell, so on this occasion I think it could happen.

But be assured, Southampton will probably make it as difficult as possible for us to get him, especially with Koeman leaving. I am 99% sure a transfer of a first-team player between 2 PL clubs who have qualified for Europe is not going to cost below £10m. £15m at least in my opinion, we all know fees are so high for PL clubs, and this is increased when it is between 2 PL clubs.

Also- Wanyama couldn't sign a pre-contract with any other PL club in January.

 

[djee]

FWIW - at board level, Spurs and Soton get on well.