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Victor Wanyama – Celtic to Southampton (£12.5m)
What’s the deal? Wow. Southampton smash their club record two summers in a row.
Is the price right? It’s too much. Yes, Wanyama is an elite physical presence but his best goal scoring season last year saw him get 6, so they’re paying for an athletic menace and destroyer.
Why sign him? Wanyama is a genuinely superior athlete for a footballer. He’s 6’2 and the best part of 15 stone. What he brings Southampton is akin to what Fellaini brings to Everton. A dominant presence in the middle of the pitch in a team which isn’t blessed with size or power. If they move to a 433 then he’d be a good compliment to Cork and Schneiderlin.
Why sell him? It’s by far the most they’ve received for a transfer in club history and £12.5m means they can add about 4 or 5 players.
Will it work? Yes. Saints have some nice technicians and play some lovely stuff, but at times they got bullied. That ends with Wanyama coming in to the team.
Grade: B+ It depends how they use him. If they are playing 433 and he can play as a wrecking crew then he can be devastating but if he ends up playing as a shield it’s a waste of so much money. Great ambition though and real echoes of Everton signing Fellaini.
