New signing Victor Wanyama outperformed expectations in a calm and cool debut for Spurs against Everton.
Article by Steven Benton @StevnBentn
With midfielder Mousa Dembele suspended for the first four games of the Premier League campaign, Victor Wanyama took on the necessary responsibility to help us to a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. The new arrival from Southampton played well alongside Eric Dier in Mauricio Pochettino’s classic 4-2-3-1 formation. He completed 38 passes, won five challenges and made six ball recoveries.
The only head shake Wanyama received was making a needless foul on Kevin Mirallas at the five-minute mark close to the corner of Hugo Lloris’ box. That challenge led to Ross Barkley breaking the dead-lock with a whipping free kick that confused Lloris into believing it was a cross. It then took a bounce over Hugo’s head and fell into the back of the net.
Victor played the full 90 minutes on Merseyside. He called his debut average but said we had the better performance in the second half and probably deserved the three points. “We started badly but in the second half we were the better side and had a few chances,” he said. “On another day we could have taken three points.”
He praised the noise from travelling Spurs supporters and noted that not collecting all the points was not fair to the fans. "We could hear them and their support was brilliant but I’m a bit disappointed that we didn’t give them three points,” he said. “Next time we’ll fight and get the win.”
Though Victor played down his showing, he certainly justified Pochettino’s backing for him. The Argentinian manager said before the match that he expected the new arrival to make an instant impact in place of the suspended Mousa Dembele. Dembele is currently serving a six-game suspension for committing an eye gouge on Chelsea striker Diego Costa back in May. With three games served, Wanyama will be in Pochettino’s starting XI for the remainder of August and early part of September when we face Crystal Palace, Liverpool, and Stoke City.
In the 55th minute, another new signing, Vincent Janssen made his debut in a Spurs kit. The striker from AZ Alkmaar replaced midfielder Eric Dier, which saw Victor Wanyama take up a more defensive midfield role for the majority of the second half.
Wanyama hails from Nairobi, Kenya. His senior career began in 2008 with Belgian club Beerschot AC before a move to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership in 2011. In 2013, he was picked up by Mauricio Pochettino while our manager was the head coach at Southampton.
Tottenham play Crystal Palace on Saturday, August 20th at 3:00 UK. It will be the first Premier League fixture at White Hart Lane this season.
What did you make of Victor Wanyama and Spurs' performance on Saturday? Let us know below!
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