Tottenham Hotspur narrowly missed out on the Premier League title last season, largely due to a lack of midfield power. To address this, Mauricio Pochettino signed a strong midfielder from Southampton for £12 million. We look at how the signing of Victor Wanyama could transform Spurs’ midfield in the Premier League.
Defensive Strengths of Victor Wanyama
Wanyama has been one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League over the past couple of seasons, showcasing his defensive prowess. With his presence in Tottenham’s midfield, we can expect to see some more stability in the middle of the park at White Hart Lane.
Impact on the Midfield
Spurs were somewhat shambolic when Eric Dier and Moussa Dembele didn’t play together in the heart of the midfield. Ryan Mason tried to step in on several occasions, but their defence was exposed due to his inability to play as a classic DM.
Mauricio Pochettino also paired Dele Alli with Eric Dier, but Harry Kane suffered the most without Alli playing behind him. The Argentinian manager realised the importance of reinforcements in midfield, so he brought in a defensive specialist who will efficiently cover his back four.
Challenges and Opportunities
Dembele will miss the first six games due to suspension, and Wanyama and Dier should start in the opening month of the season. Wanyama will have time to adapt well, and Dembele could find it hard to force him out of the first eleven when returns.
Tottenham has another DM in the squad – Nabil Bentaleb. However, the Algerian played only five matches last season and missed most of it because of injuries.
It is unclear whether will Pochettino opt to keep Bentaleb as backup or loan him out, but it seems that at the moment, there is no place for the 21-year-old at White Hart Lane.
Victor Wanyama was a mainstay in Southampton’s lineup and he’s expected to play a similar role at Spurs.
It will best reflect on Tottenham’s goalscoring record; they had the second-best attack in the league, but now they can aim to score 80 or more goals which could help them win the EPL.
However, it isn’t expected that Wanyama contribute in that regard; he scored only four goals in his three years at St. Mary’s but on the other hand, he averaged 3.1 tackles and 2.3 interceptions per game in 2015/16 which are phenomenal stats.
In the last two seasons, Wanyama recorded 187 successful tackles and is well known for putting pressure on opposition defenders.
Conclusion
Tottenham will be playing in the Champions League this year, hence Pochettino will use some of the fringe players at his disposal in the League Cup and potentially the FA Cup, but Wanyama’s place in the first team in the UCL and EPL should be unquestionable.
The manager certainly didn’t spend £12 million for one of the highest-rated DM’s to keep him on the bench.