OPINION
Tottenham might have all eyes on exactly who they are going to recruit ahead of the summer window, but they should also be considering exactly who stays and who goes over the next couple of months.
Mauricio Pochettino has overseen another season of growth and improvement in the Lilywhite half of north London and there will be hopes that their rise continues over the next 12 months.
However, as with any football club, success comes from continued investment and backing to help strengthen the senior side – and that is exactly what must happen this summer.
One man linked with the exit has been Victor Wanyama, with the Daily Mail claiming that Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester United are keen on snapping him up, with a £40million valuation slapped on the Kenyan international’s head.
However it appears as though the 26-year-old enforcer has no plans to leave, telling Goal: “I don’t respond to rumours and all those are rumours to me, I still have a contract with Spurs and that is what I want to see through.
“I am happy at Tottenham and I am committed to the team. I am not aware of anything and I am very fine and happy where I am.”
Now Wanyama may well be happy at Spurs, but his lack of playing time, for injury or otherwise, will be a concern to Mauricio Pochettino, and he has been sub par in many of the performances he has put in, lacking the creativity and vision that so many of his Spurs counterparts possess.
He is a dependable defensive midfielder but he needs to add more arrows to his quiver if he is ever going to be a regular – and with that possible £40million fee over his head, his time may already be up.
If that sort of bid does come in, Pochettino must snap the buying club’s hand off and break Wanyama’s heart, for that sort of money could help take Spurs to the next level.
It is what they spent on Davinson Sanchez, who has been a resounding success, and with Daniel Levy’s notoriously tight purse strings in place, that money could be a massive boost to strengthening the side with a calibre of player far beyond Wanyama.