Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino moved to bolster his midfield earlier this week by signing Victor Wanyama from Glasgow Celtic for a reported fee of £12.5m. The 22-year-old arrives at St Mary’s on a four-year contract and is the Saints’ second new face this summer, following the capture of centre-half Dejan Lovren earlier in the transfer window.
Having pursued the player for a number of weeks, Pochettino was clearly delighted at finally clinching the Kenyan’s signature. Speaking to the club’s official website, the Saints boss revealed he has high expectations for the new arrival over the season ahead:
“I am very pleased to have secured the signing of Victor because we are a big admirer of his talents and he will fit in well to the team here at Southampton. The fact that a lot of top European clubs were also keen to sign him shows what an attractive prospect Southampton Football Club is to a player who had his pick of the teams in England and abroad. I’ve watched him perform at the top level in the Champions League, and I believe that he will be a valuable addition to our Premier League squad for the season ahead.”
The History
After a youth career which included a spell at Swedish club Helsingborg along with his brother McDonald Mariga (now of Inter Milan), Wanyama was finally picked up as a 17-year-old by Belgian second division outfit Beerschot FC in the summer of 2008. During his time there, Wanyama turned out 49 times, producing a goal and assist, though his game time was slightly curtailed after he received a couple of three-match bans for violent behaviour.
Finally signed by long-term admirer Neil Lennon in the summer of 2011 after the Glasgow club had a bid rejected the previous year, Wanyama quickly developed into a key player for the Hoops. His first season at Parkhead produced four goals and four assists from 29 appearances but last year the Kenyan found the net with a little more regularity, producing six goals and three assists from 32 league games. Wanyama also grabbed a goal in Celtic’s Champions League home win over Barcelona, with his displays earning him the accolade of SPL Young Player of the Year for 2012/13. The midfielder has turned out for his country on 22 occasions, scoring twice.
The Prospects
Standing six foot two inches tall and built more like a boxer, Wanyama is the type of player for whom the phrase “midfield powerhouse” seems to have been penned. While his endless energy and tough-tackling are key attributes, branding him no more than a ball-winner is doing the Kenyan a great disservice; he’s deceptively quick for a player of his stature, is good in possession, and, in addition to having a penchant for long range strikes, has the technique and confidence to bring the ball forward from deep. It’s little wonder Arsenal were amongst a number of clubs linked with a possible move for his services.
Wanyama’s arrival at St Mary’s looks bad news for Jack Cork, then, with the new boy set to link up with Morgan Schneiderlin in the double-pivot in Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1 formation next time out. Given that the Frenchman won more tackles and made more interceptions than any other player in the Premier League last season, Southampton look set to have a formidable pairing based in front of their back-four, with Schneiderlin perhaps stationed a little deeper, allowing Wanyama to burst forward and lend his considerable weight to his side’s attacks.
Yet to be listed in the Sky Sports game, Wanyama will set you back 3.0 in the Sun Dream Team – 0.5 more than Schneiderlin and Adam Lallana, for example, and the same price as Gaston Ramirez. In terms of Fantasy Premier League (FPL), a cost of around 5.0 or 5.5 is anticipated, though Ramirez and Lallana’s more advanced berths in the attacking midfield three are likely to lessen interest in the new boy, particularly if the pair come in at 6.0 or less.
From a Fantasy perspective, the upside of Wanyama’s arrival, allied with the purchase of Lovren, is that Southampton are growing ever-more enticing from a defensive perspective for the season ahead. Pochettino’s side shipped just nine goals in the last 10 matches of 2012/13 and with these two new additions on board, look a real option at the back – all the more so given their main assets are expected to come in under 5.0 in FPL.
With Wanyama and Schneiderlin patrolling the centre of the park, Nathaniel Clyne and Luke Shaw will be afforded plenty license to forage forward from the full-back areas time and again. A schedule that sees Sunderland, West Ham, Palace, Swansea, Fulham, Hull and Villa the first seven visitors to St Mary’s could barely be any kinder and with a strong home/away rotation partnership offered with West Ham, twinning Clyne or Shaw with Hammers left-back Razvan Rat, for example, just got that little bit more appetising.
10 years, 11 months agoi feel so proud that victor wanyama is going to be playing in the premier league...as a kenyan it will be so surreal to see! he is the first east african to play in england. 🙂