Some Tottenham fans believe signing Victor Wanyama solves Spurs’ midfield issues, I think the club could still improve in the middle of the pitch
Just because Tottenham have successfully signed Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama doesn’t mean that Mauricio Pochettino’s club is through looking for reinforcements at that spot on the pitch. Spurs should still be keeping a close eye on the availability of Zenit star Axel Witsel this summer.
Sport Witness claim that Witsel has been open about his desire to leave his Russian Club this summer. In particular, the Belgian international prefers a potential move to either England or Italy. Those comments obviously should put Tottenham on high alert once the Euros are over.
Signing Wanyama does wonders for the club in terms of adding to their defensive steel, but he certainly isn’t a creative force moving further up the pitch. The burly Kenyan won’t necessarily be a great attribute for Tottenham against teams that elect to park the bus against them.
During those matches, Pochettino may need to select midfielders who are better suited to contribute further up the pitch. Unless you’re satisfied with the likes of Ryan Mason or Nabil Bentaleb handling that role, there’s still a hole in the Spurs squad.
A player like Axel Witsel could fill that Spurs gap flawlessly. He is capable of doing a solid defensive job, but his real strength is helping to unlock the defense even from a deep-lying role. Acquiring a player of his ilk, would give Pochettino a great deal of positional flexibility next season.
Signing Witsel is also a pretty solid proposition for Tottenham because of his relationship with the club’s ever-expanding Belgian contingent. While Nacer Chadli may be headed elsewhere this summer, Witsel could potentially join Mousa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld from his national side. Those relationships could certainly ease his transition into the Premier League.
Adding Witsel also might help please that trio of Belgian stars. They clearly get along well with him and it stands to reason they’d like to play with him at the club level. That, in and of itself, isn’t a reason for Tottenham to go out and spend big money on a player, but it’s a helpful bonus.
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The question is whether or not Witsel would be willing to make the move to Spurs with the knowledge that he could easily end up as Pochettino’s fourth choice in midfield. I somehow doubt that he’d be willing to sacrifice that much playing time. If that’s the role Pochettino sees for Witsel, count on him ending up somewhere other than Tottenham next season.
If, however, Pochettino believes that Witsel can serve as both a defensive and attacking midfielder at times, the chances of Tottenham purchasing him go up considerably. He would have extreme value as a swiss army knife off the Spurs bench that could perform at any of Pochettino’s five midfield positions.
Signing Victor Wanyama was a big step towards Spurs fixing their midfield, but Pochettino and company can’t rest on their laurels. There are still plenty of reasons for the club to pursue a deal with Axel Witsel or another, more offensive minded, midfield star.