Over the last year, Liverpool have been regularly linked with a move for Celtic star Victor Wanyama, and the Hoops have now confirmed that they are willing to sell the coveted central midfielder this summer.
In March, the Daily Mail reported:
"Liverpool have joined the chase for Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama.
"Brendan Rodgers has had the 21-year-old watched extensively and is ready to make a move in the summer window.
"He has one year left on his contract and Celtic would want around £10million"
In an interview yesterday, Celtic chairman Ian Bankier hailed Wanyama as a 'very special player' but conceded that he the club would listen to offers. He told the Daily Echo:
“There is a lot of interest for him. Our financial model is to buy and sell players, therefore if the right offer comes for Victor Wanyama, he’s happy with it, his agent’s happy with it, we’ll take it.”
When asked this week about his future, Wanyama also confirmed that he is willing to move on this summer. He noted:
"I still have a contract with Celtic and I am their player, but if anything comes up and it is good for me and the club, from there I will move on.”
Southampton have reportedly agreed a £10m fee for the Kenyan international, but a host of other clubs - including Liverpool and Arsenal - are monitoring negotiations, and could put in rival bids.
I argued several times in the past that no club would pay more than £10-£12m for Wanyama, but I was repeatedly told that I was wrong, and that he wouldn't go for less than £25m (!), which - according to Celtic boss Neil Lennon - is what Wanyama is worth. The Celtic boss told The Daily Mail:
"He is worth £25m so they can start the bidding at that. I think Victor can play in any company. He is very consistent and you have to look at what he could develop into as well. He has been a great performer for us, and there is a lot of speculation and interest in him"
Wanyama may be worth £25m, but no club will ever pay that. It's a historical impossibility anyway considering no player from the SPL has ever left the league for more than £10-£12m.
Speaking to Reporters recently in Nairobi, Bailey - who played almost 300 games for Liverpool's bitter rivals - hailed Wanyama as one of the world's leading midfielders:
“Wanyama is one of the best midfielders in the world at the moment. He has already proven himself in Scotland and also won titles. He needs another challenge, possibly in England where I am sure a host of clubs have been following his displays".
Liverpool seem to be moving quickly in the transfer market, and the club is on the verge of tying up several attacking signings, but the one position that really needs strengthening is (seemingly) not being addressed at the moment.
Lucas is undoubtedly an important part of Brendan Rodgers' squad, but even if he returns to top form next season, the club (arguably) has to prioritise the signing of another defensive midfielder this summer.
The question is, will Rodgers buy someone, or will he continue to use Joe Allen as cover?
Allen and Lucas are too similar (IMO), and the club needs someone with real physical presence to offer something different in midfield, and Wanyama fits the bill.
I suspect, however, that Rodgers will persist with Allen/Lucas sharing the position, and if he does that, it will almost certainly prove to be a major mistake.
Should Liverpool go in for Wanyama...?
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
In March, the Daily Mail reported:
"Liverpool have joined the chase for Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama.
"Brendan Rodgers has had the 21-year-old watched extensively and is ready to make a move in the summer window.
"He has one year left on his contract and Celtic would want around £10million"
In an interview yesterday, Celtic chairman Ian Bankier hailed Wanyama as a 'very special player' but conceded that he the club would listen to offers. He told the Daily Echo:
“There is a lot of interest for him. Our financial model is to buy and sell players, therefore if the right offer comes for Victor Wanyama, he’s happy with it, his agent’s happy with it, we’ll take it.”
When asked this week about his future, Wanyama also confirmed that he is willing to move on this summer. He noted:
"I still have a contract with Celtic and I am their player, but if anything comes up and it is good for me and the club, from there I will move on.”
Southampton have reportedly agreed a £10m fee for the Kenyan international, but a host of other clubs - including Liverpool and Arsenal - are monitoring negotiations, and could put in rival bids.
I argued several times in the past that no club would pay more than £10-£12m for Wanyama, but I was repeatedly told that I was wrong, and that he wouldn't go for less than £25m (!), which - according to Celtic boss Neil Lennon - is what Wanyama is worth. The Celtic boss told The Daily Mail:
"He is worth £25m so they can start the bidding at that. I think Victor can play in any company. He is very consistent and you have to look at what he could develop into as well. He has been a great performer for us, and there is a lot of speculation and interest in him"
Wanyama may be worth £25m, but no club will ever pay that. It's a historical impossibility anyway considering no player from the SPL has ever left the league for more than £10-£12m.
Speaking to Reporters recently in Nairobi, Bailey - who played almost 300 games for Liverpool's bitter rivals - hailed Wanyama as one of the world's leading midfielders:
“Wanyama is one of the best midfielders in the world at the moment. He has already proven himself in Scotland and also won titles. He needs another challenge, possibly in England where I am sure a host of clubs have been following his displays".
Liverpool seem to be moving quickly in the transfer market, and the club is on the verge of tying up several attacking signings, but the one position that really needs strengthening is (seemingly) not being addressed at the moment.
Lucas is undoubtedly an important part of Brendan Rodgers' squad, but even if he returns to top form next season, the club (arguably) has to prioritise the signing of another defensive midfielder this summer.
The question is, will Rodgers buy someone, or will he continue to use Joe Allen as cover?
Allen and Lucas are too similar (IMO), and the club needs someone with real physical presence to offer something different in midfield, and Wanyama fits the bill.
I suspect, however, that Rodgers will persist with Allen/Lucas sharing the position, and if he does that, it will almost certainly prove to be a major mistake.
Should Liverpool go in for Wanyama...?
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
The only others 'not good enough' I can think of that start regularly are Allen and Shelvey. I think Downing has grown into his position. I think Lucas is questionable but I'm willing to give him another year to see if he can shake the injury list consistently. It has affected his play and made him tentative...not a good thing. Who else do you think 'aren't good enough?'
ReplyDeleteI've only heard good things about him. And is the skill full ball playing player Rodgers is looking for. Good experience too. Just read another article and they said Arsenal are looking at him too. But it would be criticised as "an underwhelming transfer" for them. The same article said he would be good for Loverpool though! So, according to the numpty who wrote that article (for HITC Sport), he's not good enough for Arsenal but fine for Liverpool!!
ReplyDeleteMake of that what you will!
Yes. I totally agree. We definately need another Defensive Midfielder to compete with Lucas. And yes, someone with a lot more physical presence on the Pitch. We've only really got Gerrard with that type of character (correct me if I'm wrong please) so we certainly need another player in that position with a lot of skill and a bit of steel too. Wether that's Wanyama, I couldn't say.
ReplyDeleteI would be absolutely thrilled if we got Wanyama. As a fellow Kenyan it would be an honor to have the first of my countrymen playing in the prem for the club that I've supported ever since I knew how to kick a ball!
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I cannot stress how important it is we get a DM this transfer window to supplement Lucas whether they be wanyama or someone else. I've been moaning about this since the Jan window but, with the news stories linking us to DMs starting to dwindle, I'm begining to worry that BR thinks that Allen/Hendo/and Stevie can all do a job if lucas goes down. But we saw that's not the case this past season and I'm hoping BR realizes that.
People here really want Henrikh to sign for the club because of his scoring abilities, and I think he'd be a huge asset, but I've always found that it's a lot easier to score when you have a defence you can rely on then when you are constantly worried about being caught out by the opposition. If lucas does go down next season Henrikh will be forced to work more defensively and will become ineffective like our other midfielders were at the begining of the season. Sure up our defense with some depth and then we can look to add firepower because, judging from the end of last season, that's not the biggest concern on this squad.
I'm not sure what the budget looks like after Aspas, Alberto, and Mignolet but I'd prioritize a DM, CB, then Henrikh/Eriksen in that order as the final summer signings. (If Suarez and Skrtel actually move this summer then we'd need to add a top ST to that list at the very least)