Victor Wanyama (background) vies for the ball with Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez in their meeting at St. Mary’s last season. The Southampton midfielder has been linked with January move to The Emirates. PHOTO/File
LONDON, December 22- Arsene Wenger wants to sign Southampton’s Victor Wanyama in the January transfer window and will test the Saints’ resolve with a £15million (Sh2,282,621,461.72) bid according to Metro.co.uk.
The Kenyan midfielder has been a revelation since moving to the south coast from Scottish giants Celtic in a £12.5m (Sh1.902b) move in 2013.
Injuries to Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla have left the Gunners light in central midfield and Wenger admitted today that he’s likely to be busy in the transfer window.
Arsenal will place a £15m bid for Wanyama next month in an attempt to bring him to the Emirates.
He will have the chance to audition again for Wenger’s side when the Saints welcome the Gunners on Boxing Day at St. Mary’s.
Speaking on the latest slump for last season’s sensation, Wanyama noted Southampton need more time to gel as a team if they are to match last season’s Premier League success following another summer of change.
Ronald Koeman’s men, who claimed a record seventh-place finish last term before losing stars such as Morgan Schneiderlin to Manchester United, slipped to a sixth match without a win in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham.
Wanyama’s own future has also been the subject of speculation, but the 24-year-old Kenya midfielder continues to focus on arresting Southampton’s recent slump.
“We still need to work together and to know each other more because we had a lot of changes in the team and we still need a bit of time to gel together,” Wanyama told www.saintsfc.co.uk.
“It’s about being together. We just need to fight more and sharpen ourselves up because we have some tough games ahead.
“I think it’s not going to go your way all the time, but we believe in ourselves and we believe we can still get there. We still have a chance and if we work hard then we can still get up there.”
Harry Kane and Dele Alli struck for Spurs at St Mary’s, leaving Southampton 12th in the table ahead of hosting Arsenal on Boxing Day.
-By Metro/Sky Sports
