The start of the winter season marks the begining of transfer speculations. As the January window draws closer, clubs and players alike begin to pay close attention to potential suiters.
Arsenal, alongside Manchester United, are rumoured to be linked with a move for Celtic’s Victor Wanyama.
The recent link has been down to the Kenyan’s recent performances in the Champions league, which, if I must say, have been nothing short of brilliant.
Former Celtic favourite Craig Burley believes Wanyama is destined to play in the Premier League, and claims it’s only a matter of when, rather than if, the 21-year-old will move south of the border.
‘I think we’ll see Victor Wanyama in the Premier League eventually.
‘Neil Lennon has been quite coy about him, claiming it will take £20million [to get him away from Celtic] but he’s just trying to protect his player and protect his club.
‘Working as I am at the moment in England, I know a lot of clubs are interested in him.
‘One downside to Celtic’s good run in the Champions League is that all these top players, who are playing well, are coming more to the attention of top Premier League and European clubs.’
He added:
‘If Celtic are going to lose players in the next couple of years they’ve got to make sure they get top dollar.’
Should he make a move to England, I believe Arsenal could seriously contend for his signature. The only question that remains unanswered – would he be able to cut it at The Emirates?
The way I see it, he could become a good player for our club.
The holding midfielder, who can also play in defence, is a very consistent performer and is excellent in dictating play from the middle of the park. In addition, he is a powerful figure and likes to get stuck in as well.
To me, I see him as a much closer replacement to Alex Song, who left for Barcelona in the summer.
Francis Coquelin is good in this role but is somewhat more of a box-to-box midfielder, like Abou Diaby.
Nonetheless, I’d like to see Wanyama at Arsenal, as he would offer competition to the likes of Mikel Arteta and co, as well as add more squad depth.
Would Wanyama fit the bill at Arsenal?
Let us know what you think below
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Why on earth would he go to perennial underachievers like Arsenal?
Victor will play out the season with Celtic and will be sold to a top European team in the Summer
As a Celtic fan, I have a few points to make.
Firstly Burley has not been a favorite of the Celtic support for some time. His television persona and commentary in general toward Celtic has currently been negative in the extreme. That he is willing to offer phlegmatic opinion on us selling our young stars would not be surprising to any Celtic supporter. Any credible opinion he has on Celtic matters have long been irrelevant.
Outrageous wage offers aside, the player himself has firmly stated that he wants to continue to develop at Celtic in this young team, before considering his future. He has also said that a move is not currently in his own best interests.
He is currently “rough diamond” status, meaning he nowhere close to being the finished article. He does make mistakes and give away the ball on occasion. Stepping up into an a Gunners side, requiring immediate performances is not going to happen, would you have patience to see him develop? We certainly do.
100% agree regarding Craig “Big Chip” Burley.
Nothing this bitter clown says can be taken seriously.
As for Victor Wanyama. He will make it to the very top in the game. I cannot envisage him at Arsenal because he would cost the kind of money Wenger won’t spend. Especially on a young developing player.
Stay with Celtic Victor, grow and prosper, then you will choose where you go.
I dont think Arsenal need him bcos we already hav Coq. What we need is M’villa or Sissoko.
Bottom line is that Wanyama will not play second fiddle to ANYONE in the Gooners midfield. He would grace any midfield in the Premiership and will be a first pick. Man U, Man City or Chelski could all do with him along with the 2nd tier clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle and Spurs. Will he take a step down to clubs who cannot offer him success? I don’t think so. I reckon he will stay with Celtic till the end of this season and possibly next and he will then move to a top club in the EPL or Europe and it will take serious money to shift him – at this stage £12M to £15M. He will be a better player than Alex Song, Mikel or any other player of that ilk. he will also be a better player than his brother (McDonald Maringa).
So in short, dream on!
This guy would be more than perfect replacement for alex song for arsenal if arsene wenger can spend the cash in january transfer
Too many people are scouting Wanyama and it could as well be a bidding war which Arsenal tend to lose. We do need some legs in the midfield though. Arteta is more about the simple things like passing and getting the play started form deep but he’s never been the fastest or the strongest – this deep DM position is really new to him as he was more of a attacking player for Everton. We need some power in the middle of the park. Juventus has shown that when you have a player like Arteta, or in Juve’s case Pirlo, you couple them with a box to box power player like Capoue or for Juve – Vidal. This would free up Santi so much more and would allow Mikel more time on the ball to spray passes.
With Diaby out and let’s face it probably never going to finish a season. We need a better replacement. M’Vila is overrated and with him out of the France national team I imagine Deschamps will look at Capoue more to provide that bite in the midfield much like he used to. This could ultimately propel Capoue more into the public consciousness and his price could skyrocket if he plays well. We should tie him down or try to long before that so we’re paying maybe 14M instead of 24M when he becomes a household name.
Why would he bother going to Arsenal? According to Charles Greene, Sevco are a bigger team than Arsenal and they play in the Scottish 3rd Division!
If Celtic played in the EPL and had the money Arsenal have they would win that league every year.
The Emirates hold a funeral at the ground every other week when Arsenal play. I’ve had more excitement at the opening of my electric bill. Arsenal are a club going nowhere and have been for a long time. Why they persist with Wegner is beyond me. When was the last time that team won anything?