Darren Bent fires stern warning to Tottenham about giving 28yo game time

Tottenham legend Darren Bent has urged his former club to be wary of the mindset of Victor Wanyama, after the midfielder almost left the club at the end of the European transfer window.

Wanyama was heavily linked with a move to Belgian side Club Brugge towards the end of last month, but a deal between the two sides never materialised and the Kenyan international settled for a stay in North London.

The 28-year-old is yet to feature for Mauricio Pochettino‘s side this term and, speaking to Football Insider, Bent pointed out that while he is currently on the fringes of the Spurs first team, Spurs should not rule out Wanyama making an impact for the club during the current campaign.

“It just depends where his head’s at,” the 35-year-old said. “Someone like that you want around the first-team because he’s a good player. You’re going to need him at times when the squad’s a bit light.

“You might go into a game where you need that defensive pairing to win you the game, shore you up a little bit, he’s the perfect guy. At the same time, if his head’s not right because he thought he was leaving and he’s desperate to get out of there, you can’t risk someone like that because he doesn’t want to be there.

“Where’s his head at? If it’s in the right place, I’m all for using him, because he’s good enough to do a job when they need him. You talk about defensive nous, where to be on the pitch and how to defend effectively, there’s no one better.”

Spurs face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday and at his pre-match press conference, Pochettino updated reporters on his side’s latest injury news, with two players definitely ruled out of the clash.

 

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