On Saturday, Harambee Stars Captain Victor Wanyama was in the starting lineup as his Tottenham Hotspurs side played host to Arsenal in the English Premier League match dubbed the North London Derby.
However, Wanyama did not finish the game as he was replaced by Argentine Eric Lamela in the second half in the game that ended 1-1.
It was the first start for Wanyama since November 10, 2018, and the second start for him in a Spurs shirt in the current campaign due to recurrent knee injuries that have plagued his season.
“This was my first start for a very long time and it’s a tough game to come into, but I had to go in and get on with the game. Just getting the start and being back in the team, it gave me a lot of confidence and from today I can only be positive,” Wanyama was quoted by the Spurs portal after the game.
It is an open secret that Wanyama started the match because Harry Winks and Eric Dier were missing due to injury.
Having started against Arsenal in a game that he produced a committed performance, Wanyama could have started again or thrown into the mix at some stage as his Spurs side played Germany’s Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 match on Tuesday night.
Spurs went into the match with a commanding 3-0 lead after the first leg last month, and this is a match Wanyama would have used to regain his much-needed match fitness but his Coach Mauricio Pochettino never played him.
The 27-year-old Kenyan joined Spurs from Southampton in 2016 and has a contract with the London side until 2021. Watching Spurs closely of late, one would have realized that Danny Rose is taking up midfield roles since the departure of Moussa Dembele in January.
Wanyama was at one point among the first names on Spurs matchday squad, but injuries have led to him being boxed out of Spurs major roles.
It is my opinion that As Winks, Dier and Rose continue to partner and exchange roles in midfield; Wanyama is moving closer and closer to Spurs exit door with each passing day.
West Ham United and Italy’s AS Roma are some of the teams which have shown interest in his services should his stay at Spurs come to an end.
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