Tottenham’s Victor Wanyama emerges as late Club Brugge transfer target

Victor Wanyama has been one of Tottenham Hotspur’s steady and solid club servants over the past number of years, but as the Kenyan defensive midfielder gets older, his minutes and impact have decreased. It is then perhaps unsurprising that he has been the subject of persistent, if quiet, transfer speculation all summer. And now those rumors are starting to heat up as the European transfer window deadline starts to near.

The latest, and perhaps biggest, rumor of the summer comes from Belgium. HLN reporter and London-based Belgian football specialist Kristof Terreur notes an article in his paper today that notes that Wanyama has emerged as a potential transfer target for Club Brugge, but it appears that a deal might be some distance away yet. Club Brugge is hunting for reinforcements as they are close to securing a spot in the group stages of the Champions League; they earned an important 1-0 win away to Austrian club LASK yesterday evening, with the return fixture to take place next week.

However, as Terreur notes, Wanyama is one of several options for Club Brugge, and their level of interest will depend on what Daniel Levy demands for Wanyama. And that, according to the Evening Standard, is a pretty significant price. Simon Johnson writes that Spurs have slapped an asking price of £17m for Wanyama, which is a LOT of money for a player who hasn’t proven that he can stay healthy over the past couple of seasons. The Standard also notes that the valuation of Wanyama is more than double the £8m that Club Brugge want to pay. There’s the possibility of a season-long loan — which seem to be the hot thing for clubs to do, especially this summer — but Wanyama’s currently on wages of £65k/week which is a lot for a club playing in a second tier European football league, even if they are potential Champions League participants.

I don’t know whether this valuation of Wanyama is intended to put Club Brugge off from purchasing Wanyama — the Standard notes that talks are ongoing — or if this really is what Spurs value Big Vic, despite being 28 (until he’s 29) and without at least one working knee. It’s worth noting that Spurs spent £13.5m to purchase Vic from Southampton back in 2016, which means that if he is sold for £17m Daniel Levy will have recouped not only his initial transfer fee but also a good chunk of what Spurs paid him in wages.

My gut feeling is that this number is too high for Club Brugge, and that this is probably not going anywhere, either a loan or a transfer. I could be wrong, of course. Vic is contracted until 2021, and it might be worth keeping him around for the matches in which he is healthy, as he’s still a very useful player. But if Spurs can get a good price for him before the close of the window, it wouldn’t at all be surprising if we see him out the door.