Tottenham are set to offer Southampton £16m for tough-tackling midfielder Victor Wanyama, according to the Daily Mail.
White Hart Lane boss Mauricio Pochettino has opted to use Eric Dier in a holding midfielder role thus far this season, and Kenyan international Wanyama would offer the North London side an improvement in the role.
Pochettino knows Wanyama well from his time in charge at Southampton, indeed it was the Argentine who brought in the defensive midfielder from Celtic two years ago, and he will look to reunite with the 24-year-old before the transfer window slams shut.
Tottenham have a number of central midfield options, with Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb having been Pochettino’s players of choice last term. However, Spurs have successfully trimmed away a fair number of under-performing members of their squad this summer, leaving space for new additions.
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Tottenham transfer news
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It’s a testament to the sheer size of Tottenham’s playing staff that Pochettino has managed to sell Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Benjamin Stambouli, Vlad Chiriches, Younes Kaboul, Lewis Holtby and Roberto Soldado, without those sales significantly reducing the overall quality of the club’s options.
The Saints would be loath to lose Wanyama given that St Mary’s boss Ronald Koeman has already seen one strong midfielder, Morgan Schneiderlin, leave for pastures new this summer.
The East African has proven himself to be an elite Premier League campaigner, averaging 2.9 tackles per match and 1.9 interceptions per match in 32 EPL outings last term.