Latest news on the Victor Wanyama deal seems to be that the stumbling block is his agents demands.
Football agents are a part of the modern game, in some respects they are a useful commodity in that they enable a player to concentrate on playing rather than contract negotiations and also mean that harmony between player and club can be maintained letting the agent take the blame.
Now it seems that Victor Wanyama joining Saints rests on his agents being paid an alleged £1 million in order for the deal to take place, Saints chairman Nicola Cortese is said to be incensed by this and to be blunt I dont blame him and i hope that he sticks to his principles and refuses to pay any additions other than normal fees etc.
The players agents has been quoted in the media saying
"It is completely untrue that we are holding talks with Southampton. They were made aware some weeks ago what the player was looking for.
"At that time they were not prepared to meet that so, as far as we are concerned, discussions with Southampton ended some weeks ago.
"The player is in Kenya and has no immediate plans for a quick return. The player will not be railroaded into a move that is not right for him."
So in other words, this deal is all about money, not what would be a good move for a player who at 21 has his career ahead of him and plenty of time to earn big deals, yes of course all involved would want to make whatever they can out of selling Wanyama to whoever they can, but there is a fine line between earning what a player is worth and holding clubs to ransom trying to entice the biggest bid.
Wanyama is undoubtably a talent, however I would say he is not playing in a position that we are desperate to fill, if Wanyama genuinely wants what is best for his career he could easily tell his agents that he doesnt want a deal scuppered by this sort of practice and talk to Saints or whoever else is in for him, or he can sit back and wait for the money to come in.
Recent stories in the media have revealed that football clubs now look a lot further into a players attitude and background before signing them, than they ever did in the past, perhaps a players greed should be taken into account when considering how much we want a player and how much we are willing to pay him.