Today in the world of Celtic news, former player and midfield powerhouse, Victor Wanyana has stated that he would love to return to the club one day whislt insisting he never wanted to leave in the first place!
Wanyana made a name for himself in Glasgow’s East End during Neil Lennon’s first stint as Celtic manager. Signing from Beerschot in the Belgian League, Victor endeared himself to the Celtic Support with his tough tackling and energetic aura in the Parkhead engine room.
The highlight of his career at Celtic Park was undoubtedly scoring against Barcelona at home in the Champions League, as the Hoops triumphed over the mighty Catalans en-route to the Last-16 of the European Cup in 2012.
This however, did catch the eyes of admirers in the English Premier League, with Southampton taking a punt on the big Kenyan in 2013, stumping up £11 million in the process. Wanyama went on to establish himself as a regular player for Southampton, and when Mauricio Pochettino made the move to London with Spurs he brought Victor with him.
Speaking to Football Scotland on his move from Celtic, he said: “It was difficult. I personally wanted to be there but it was also a good investment for the club. It was a good business side. The club had to benefit to make the business side move on. I understood that. I loved the club and I was really happy to continue there. But the situation didn’t allow it.”
He enjoyed a few fruitful seasons at Tottenham, but injuries and a lack of form saw him moved on to the MLS in January of 2020. Celtic had even tried to inquire about his availability but were rebuffed by Daniel Levy and his unreasonable demands.
On Celtic’s reputed interest, he said: “I had a contract at Tottenham and they were very difficult to let me go, the demands were very hard. Celtic was a club that I would love to play for again and again. It’s more than a club. I enjoyed my time there. I honestly want to come back and give it a last go because I love the club, the people there, the fans, just everything there was great. They give the players everything to go on the pitch and perform. Everything was just on top. There was a loan approach but I don’t know what happened. I didn’t follow it up that much.”
“I spoke to Neil as well and he said to me ‘it’s difficult with the demands’ and at that time they didn’t have the money to make it happen. But it is what is is. As I say, I still love that club, it’s in my heart.”
Victor was a fan favourite during his time at Paradise and the thought of coming back appeals to him. He added: “Of course, it wasn’t always about me. It was about club-to-club. “For me, I was ready to sacrifice that time. What happened, happened.”
Whether a move for Victor currently would make sense or not would be a matter for Ange Postecoglou to decide. With the way Ange wants his team to play, I’m sure the manager has other targets in mind for the midfield come January. There’s also the signing of James McCarthy that hasn’t exactly went to plan, despite everyone having high hopes when he arrived at the club during the summer window.
Time will tell.
Paul Gillespie
