OPINION
West Ham could play a blinder by reviving their reported pursuit of Tottenham midfielder Victor Wanyama on transfer deadline day as Spurs are struggling to find a club to loan him too.
Reliable Hammers source ExWHUemployee previously claimed in July that the Hammers had been eyeing up the Spurs midfielder while on the West Ham Way podcast, however later than month, he added that there was a doubt a deal could be done.
ExWHUemployee claimed that while a loan deal could possibly be reached at the end of the window, the Hammers really struggle to deal with Tottenham.
“I mentioned him last week on the show, Wanyama from Spurs,” ExWHUemployee told the West Ham Way podcast [38m 15s] on Phoenix FM.
“The problem with Tottenham is that we really struggle to deal with them – they don’t like to do business with us and vice versa.
“There may be a loan at the end of the window possibly.
“But again, it’s going to depend on Tottenham so I wouldn’t get too excited about that.”
Since this update, the link between the Hammers and Wanyama has gone quiet but based on Sky Sports’ update on the 28-year-old’s future, transfer deadline day is the perfect time for Manuel Pellegrini’s side to swoop as they could force Spurs’ hands.
The broadcaster’s live transfer blog (10:33am) stated that Spurs are open to getting the midfield enforcer a new club, but they simply can’t find a destination for him.
Given that Spurs likely want rid of Wanyama to get his £65,000-a-week wages off their books, as per Spotrac, as that’s a big salary to pay someone who isn’t going to feature for the first-team, then the Hammers will likely find them easier to deal with as Mauricio Pochettino’s side don’t have any other options for the midfielder.
Wanyama would be the ideal signing to compete with Declan Rice and Mark Noble for a place in the Hammers’ midfield as he is a Premier League proven player.
The midfield enforcer has played 152 times in the Premier League and has made 385 tackles while maintaining an impressive tackle success rate of 77%. (Source: Premier League)
In fact, while Wanyama struggled to feature for Spurs last season in the Premier League, he appeared 13 times, it’s quite impressive that he maintained a 100% tackle success rate, he made 13 tackles as well as cleared the ball nine times as well as intercepted the ball seven times. (Source: Premier League)
The biggest question over the Spurs midfielder is his injury record, knee problems have seen him stuck on the sidelines for over 200 days in recent times (Source: Transfermarkt), but if the Hammers got him on loan, it makes him worth taking a chance on as it’s not a long-term investment.
So with that in mind, the Hammers could play a blinder with only hours left of deadline day if they act quickly.
