According to reports Tottenham are close to agreeing a deal with Southampton defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama. Spurs tried to sign the Kenyan star last summer but a deal couldn’t be brokered through, however Mauricio Pochettino is feeling positive this time as the midfielder is in his last year of contract St. Marys and is on the lookout for new employers. Southampton currently without a manager after Ronald Koeman left them to join Everton last week, are in danger of losing some of their stars this summer and Wanyama could be the first on the list.
Spurs are eager to add to their squad this summer after they missed out on the Premier League title last season with a mini collapse in the final weeks. The Saints midfielder could give them that extra bit of solidity in the middle of the pitch, which would allow the likes of Kane and Alli to play there free flowing attacking football. However no is quite sure how the Argentine Manager will fit in Wanyama since they already have the likes of Dier and Dembele in that position. The pair of them did well last season shielding the back four and launching attacks upfront at every given chance. Let us compare the Southampton man with the English defensive midfielder.
One look at the stats and it becomes clear how similar these two players are. Both of them are quite adept at retaining possession for their team, showcased by their almost similar pass completion percentage of 82% for the Kenyan midfielder and 83% for Dier last season. Even when we see the number of key passes made throughout the last season, both players seem to be neck and neck with the Spurs man just edging out his opponent from the south coast. Wanyama is a strong robust player, who has ample amounts of pace to burn and can be a major aerial threat on set pieces. Pochettino knows the player well from his time at Southampton and is eager to bring him to London to add competition for Dier and Dembele.
Tottenham already have an array of midfield options but a partnership consisting of Wanyama and Dier could prove to be particularly difficult for the opposition to break through. Both the players were excellent last season in fulfilling their defensive duties, while Wanyama won more tackles, Dier was excellent at winning aerial battles against his opponents and made more number of interceptions than the Southampton player. However one stat that is heavily in favour of the Kenyan is the number of successful takes on, he is excellent at gliding past the opposition players with his trickery and pace.
Pochettino and Wanyama have worked together previously and know each other well. The two reuniting at the White Hart Lane should make a lot of Spurs fan happy, however one still needs to see how the manager is planning to use him.