Celtic could look to bring back former midfielder Victor Wanyama, but the midfielder would not likely be top of the club’s priorities.
That’s according to former Scotland full-back Alan Hutton, who spoke to Football Insider about the possibility of the Kenyan making a return to Celtic Park.
Wanyama won two league titles and a Scottish Cup with the Celts. Furthermore, the midfielder, who currently plays for CF Montreal in MLS, said last month to the GlasgowTimes that he would ‘love’ to play for Celtic again.
Hutton isn’t sure that Wanyama will be able to play week-in, week-out, but feels it is an option they will probably look at.
He said: “They might look at it.
“I am not so sure it would be top of the list. He has obviously got that history of being at the club. He has left and played at a high level.
“But at 31, they tried that with [James] McCarthy, has that really worked? I am not so sure. There is obviously a top player within there, but I think it really depends on who they have in their sights.
“They play with very high energy, high aggression, non-stop. Can he do that week-in, week-out? I am not so sure.”
TIF Thoughts on Hutton’s comments…
We believe that whilst it would be great to see Wanyama return to Celtic Park, it may not work out. The Kenyan is a lot older now and could struggle to play at a consistently high level – especially if he has to adapt to Scottish football again after a long time away.
However, if they were to use him more as a rotation player, we could understand why Celtic may want to bring him back.
In 2022, the midfielder has averaged a match rating of 6.95 on SofaScore for his league performances, with standout performances coming against Columbus Crew and Inter Miami, where he directly contributed to his team’s goalscoring efforts.
So it’s not as if Wanyama is totally past it. However, Celtic will need to think about if they want to bring in someone who’s on the older side.
It does mean that the midfielder is experienced and knows the Scottish League well, but the Hoops might not get many years out of him. Either way, given Ange Postecoglou’s record in the transfer market at Celtic, we’re confident they will make the right call.