Victor Wanyama can’t buy a game for Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham but Premier League strugglers Aston Villa could reportedly offer him a fresh start.
Aston Villa are set to offer Victor Wanyama an escape route out of Tottenham Hotspur in the final few days of the January transfer window, according to the Sun (29 January, page 56).
If there is one area where Dean Smith is not short of options, it’s in defensive midfield. Douglas Luiz, Conor Hourihane, Marvelous Nakamba and new loan signing Danny Drinkwater are all capable of playing in that ‘number six’ role in front of the back four – albeit with mixed results.
But that has not stopped Villa from making Wanyama a ‘top priority target’ this week.
The £11 million powerhouse has played just 24 minutes of Premier League football all season with Jose Mourinho freezing out a Kenyan international who had already fallen out of favour under Mauricio Pochettino.
Wanyama still has a lot to offer, however, and Aston Villa’s rather vulnerable back line would only benefit from having a fearsome ball-winning like him putting out fires in the centre of the park.
The former Celtic and Southampton enforcer averaged almost three successful tackles per game in the Premier League during his stellar years between 2013 and 2017 so no wonder an exciting yet naive Villa side are interested in offering him a fresh start.
With Wanyama miles down the pecking order in North London, Spurs will surely not stand in his way. According to the Standard, the two-time Scottish Premiership winner was valued at £17 million in the summer but, after six months of inactivity, Tottenham will accept just £9 million.
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