Talking Tactics: Which Tottenham Midfielder Should Partner Victor Wanyama In The Pivot?

Tottenham have finally got their man as the London club confirmed that they have signed Victor Wanyama from Southampton. The Kenyan was a player who was linked with a move away from the South coast for a number of years and finally got his move in a £11 million deal.

Wanyama was linked with Tottenham for a while and now he seems set to add a lot of quality to Spurs’ midfield, something that they did lack when some of their top players were injured or suspended. The Kenyan brings a lot of defensive and tackling abilities to the side but a big question arises, who should partner the 24-year-old in midfield?

Last season it was Eric Dier and Moussa Dembele who constantly played for the side in midfield pivot and whenever one of them went out, the whole team fell apart. Eric Dier, especially, did extremely well in the season after being shifted to the midfield from the defence.

Dembele, on the other hand, was one of the players expected to leave the club at the start of the season but the determination of the Belgian ensured that he became one of the top players in the club and could not be dropped, he just turned things around at White Hart Lane and now seems to be the man that Tottenham cannot do without.

Dier and Dembele both bring different aspects to the team and playing them together is a great option as Dier does all the dirty work at the back and often helps out in defence while Dembele does the running about and often joins the attack and helps them out with the scoring as well.

Wanyama is a tackler and a tough one at that, he brings a lot of energy and running into the team as well and so does Dier. He isn’t someone who can attack a lot and is often helping out the defence and clearing stuff out. The 24-year-old is also very astute with his position and intercepts the ball a lot from the opposition.

He does have an issue with discipline and can get booked often as he picked up three red cards for Southampton last season but that should not be looked too deep into the matter. The inkling is that the Kenyan should play alongside someone who isn’t another defender in nature. Eric Dier might have been one of the standout performers in the Tottenham team last season but Wanyama is a direct rival for his place and if Spurs are to play him, they have to drop the Englishman and partner Wanyama with Dembele.