Victor Wanyama (Getty Images)
According to The Sun, Manuel Pellegrini wants Tottenham midfielder Victor Wanyama to bolster his midfield options in January.
The 27-year-old Kenyan powerhouse has struggled for regular minutes this season and West Ham want to take advantage of the situation to prise him away from the north London club. (h/t The Sun)
Wanyama made his move to Tottenham back in 2016 from Southampton for a fee of £11 million and enjoyed a lot of first-team involvement in his first season, making 47 appearances across all competitions. However, a serious knee injury last term resulted in his slip down the pecking order and he has found it difficult to regain his place in the starting eleven after making a return from injury.
In fact, Wanyama has only made 5 appearances for Spurs this season, only two of which have been starts. He started the game in the Champions League against Barcelona and put in a rather poor performance alongside Harry Winks in central midfield as the Lilywhites crumbled to a 4-2 defeat.
Quite clearly, the Kenyan international has fallen out of favour under Mauricio Pochettino. The presence of Harry Winks, Mousa Dembele, Eric Dier and youngster Oliver Skipp have made life difficult for him in north London.
West Ham endured a terrible start to the season with four back-to-back defeats but the Hammers turned their fortunes around with victories against Manchester United and Everton. However, defeats at the hands of Brighton and Spurs brought the fans down to earth once again. To make matters worse, the Hammers have as many as ten players, including the likes of Andriy Yarmolenko and Marko Arnautovic on the treatment table.
Declan Rice has been West Ham’s standout performer in central midfield and played a very important role in the victories over United and Everton. The 19-year-old Irishman has excelled in his role as a shield for the rearguard, making some crucial tackles and using his anticipation to break up the play with interceptions.
However, the knee injury to Colombian international Carlos Sanchez dealt a severe blow to West Ham’s midfield resources. The 32-year-old is doubtful to feature for the remainder of the season and the Hammers will need to find a replacement for him. Pedro Obiang is also currently on the sidelines, nursing a calf injury but he will be expected to be back next week. Mark Noble is not getting any younger and he doesn’t really have that tenacity any more that used to make him such a useful midfield engine in his younger days.
To put things into perspective, Wanyama will be a perfect replacement for the injured Carlos Sanchez. Furthermore, he has a lot of Premier League experience under his belt, which could prove to be handy for the youngster Declan Rice.
The 27-year-old will add that stability to the midfield with his physicality and game reading ability. Not only is he adept at winning the ball back with crucial tackles and interceptions but also has the strength to outmuscle the opposition with his strength. To add to that, he is also a very good passer of the ball looks comfortable in possession.
That said, Manuel Pellegrini shouldn’t hesitate to splash the cash to sign this Kenyan midfield powerhouse in January. Given that he is out of favour at Spurs, it won’t be a tough job to lure him away from north London and the Hammers might be able to land him for a cut-price deal in the mid-season trading period.