Tottenham complete signing of Victor Wanyama from Southampton
Midfielder re-joins Mauricio Pochettino for fee of around £11m
Wanyama had only 12 months remaining on contract at St Mary’s
Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of Victor Wanyama from Southampton for a fee of around £11m, with the Kenyan midfielder signing a five-year deal at White Hart Lane.
Wanyama, who played under Mauricio Pochettino at St Mary’s, has become Spurs’ first signing of the summer and will add extra strength to central midfield, where he may now be paired alongside Eric Dier. Tottenham will also have the Champions League to contend with next season, making the need for additional options even more important.
Southampton signed Wanyama from Celtic in 2013 for £12.5m and were determined to earn the best financial return from his sale.
The 24-year-old scored four times in 97 appearances for the club but had wanted to leave last summer. Tottenham made an unsuccessful attempt to sign him then, with Southampton refusing to allow one of their key players to move. But with only 12 months remaining on his contract, a transfer this summer was almost inevitable.
Tottenham are also looking to secure additional cover for Harry Kane but have not yet submitted a bid for AZ Alkmaar’s Vincent Janssen.
The striker visited Tottenham’s training ground two weeks ago after Pochettino watched him play a friendly for Holland against the Republic of Ireland and discussions were held about his future.
Janssen is currently on holiday and has also held talks with the German club Wolfsburg, though Spurs remain his preferred choice.
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Tottenham have absolutely ‘outstanding’ 20-year-old in their ranks who’s ready to take PL by storm
Tottenham have absolutely ‘outstanding’ 20-year-old in their ranks who’s ready to take PL by storm – TBR View
Tottenham Hotspur have a lot of young talent and Pape Sarr looks to be a top prospect who is ready to take the Premier League by storm.
Tottenham signed the midfielder in 2021. He was sent out on loan in his first season but then was kept at the club last season.
Despite this, he failed to make an impression under former Spurs manager Antonio Conte. In the end, he played 14 times, but only five were starts.
Now, Sarr looks to be impressing in pre-season under new Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou and it could be his time to shine.
Pape Sarr looks ready to breakthrough next season
Spurs have been enjoying pre-season in Australia and Sarr has been impressing. The midfielder had a fantastic game against London City Sailors.
Journalist Alasidair Gold emphasised his quality in the game. Sarr played in the first-half and like many, was subbed off at half-time as Ange Postecoglou switched the entire team for the second half.
Gold gave the central midfielder the best rating of the team that played in the first half (8/10) and massively praised him, via Football.London. Gold said: “A busy display and Spurs; best player of the half.”
He was given a start after impressing the manager. Before the game, Postecoglou said: “What a player. He never stops smiling, what else do you want from a footballer? He’s outstanding and he’s always happy.
“I’ve seen plenty of outstanding players who are fairly miserable. He’s a great talent. That part really excited me at the moment that we have a clutch with Destiny, Pappy, Skippy.”
This high praise from both Gold, and more importantly the manager, emphasises the quality the 20 year-old has.
If he can keep up these top performances then there is no doubting that he is ready to play Premier League football and become a top talent in the division.