Just one defeat in their first eight Premier League games of 2018/19 has left Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters feeling confident of a positive campaign. As we reach the winter fixtures, thoughts are now starting to turn to the January transfer window and, as a club who have been particularly active over the last two summers, Wolves are attracting plenty of column inches.
Amongst the reported targets is a man who, if the gossip columns are to be believed, came close to joining the Molineux revolution back in August.
Second Time Lucky?
Kenyan international captain Victor Wanyama was reportedly on Wolves’ radar last summer but he remained with his present employers as the club signed Joao Moutinho instead. Ironically, Moutinho had been historically linked with a move to Spurs and the Portuguese international has started brightly under his compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo.
Moutinho’s job isn’t to score goals but his strike against Manchester United helped underline Wolves’ ability to succeed in this league. In contrast, injuries have, once again, played a role in stifling Victor Wanyama’s season and the defensive midfielder has been restricted to just three substitute appearances in the EPL.
Sparkling Start
“Wolverhampton Wanderers – Dec 2014 – The” (CC BY 2.0) by Gareth1953 All Right Now
Any Premier League football fan who hadn’t seen Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 2017/18 campaign may have been forgiven for assuming they would spend the new season battling at the wrong end of the table. As the teams headed into the second international break, however, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side sat in a comfortable seventh place, and may be targeting loftier ambitions.
Wolves are also one of only two teams to have taken a point off leaders Manchester City – the other being Liverpool – so the Black Country outfit may be seen as a good option at 3/1 with Paddy Power for a top six finish and a European place. Burnley achieved similar last season so it’s not an unrealistic target but could Victor Wanyama be the man to get them there?
The Case For and Against
“2018-01-20_Wolvess23” (CC BY 2.0) by Ungry Young Man
Victor Wanyama arrived at White Hart Lane from Southampton in 2016 and, as is often the case with combative defensive midfielders, he quickly became a fans’ favourite. The Kenyan international also proved to be a threat from set pieces and has, to date, scored six goals in all competitions for the north London club.
On the negative side, it’s his injury record that would be a concern to any buying club, even though it seems to be the main reason behind a potential sale. After playing 36 of 38 league games in his first season for Spurs, that tally halved to 18 in 2017/18 and it doesn’t look likely to be improved upon this time around.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have started to build a reputation for stockpiling players, so no-one would necessarily rule this transfer out. A consistently fit Victor Wanyama would be an asset to any club in the Premier League but, with that adverse injury record to be taken into account, coupled with the promising start made by Joao Moutinho, any move from Wolves must be seen as a gamble.
