Saints gave Victor Wanyama a chance in the Premier League, when they signed him from Celtic they headed a small queue offering him that opportunity, he has repayed the club this season by petulant behaviour.

Im not one that think that footballers owe their clubs anything, its a two way deal where a player is well paid but will be dumped by a club when it suits them, that being the case I don't think a player has to have any particular loyalty overall to a club more than the average person in the street would have to their employer.

But football is slightly different to normal life, a player is given a contract for a period of time and the club has to pay him the terms of that contract even if he is not performing to the levels expected.

Of course sometimes there are reasons why the player cannot fulfill his side of the contract, long term injury for instance is totally out of his hands, but in today's modern game, many players are not behaving morally.

That is why id does not surprise me to read todays headlines that Victor Wanyama is allegedly stalling on a new deal in the hope that it attracts Spurs to rekindle their interest.

It was Spurs and their unsettling approaches back in August that soured the relationship between Wanyama and Saints supporters, prior to that his popularity had never been higher after an excellent 2014/15 season.

But Spurs interest saw Wanyama display signs of petulance with Saints in no hurry to sell with two years on his contract, he seemingly refused to travel to Denmark for the second leg of the Europa League game despite the tie being finely balanced.

The question at the time was whether Wanyama had let his team mates and indeed the fans of Southampton Football Club down at a vital moment, perhaps Saints would have won in Denmark with Wanyama, that fact we will never know, but it must have upset the harmony of the squad at a crucial time.

Back then it was brushed under the carpet with the club initially claiming he was suffering a stomach bug so supporters did not make too much about it.

But when he returned to action there seemed to be something amiss with his game, on his day he could be indispensable to the team, but too often he displayed an attitude and a lack of discipline off the pitch that resulted in three needless red cards, all avoidable and from tackles that did not really need to be made given the position in the field of play.

That lead to some fans questioning his loyalty to the club. Certainly so far he has started only 25 of the 34 games played so far and all of those missed have been down to petulance, sorry stomach bug or suspension. Assuming he plays in all of the remaining games he will have missed almost a quarter of the season.

Personally all I ask for a player to do is fulfill their contract, whilst they are signed to the club to turn out and try their hardest, in life we all have disappointments, but we have to get on with life and grin and bear it, Wanyama is privileged he is paid highly whatever his form or ability either physically or mentally to turn out and play to his ability.

Now just as Saints season reaches a climax, again the rumours surface about the fact that Wanyama is stalling on a contract and that he is trying to stir up the attention of Spurs, perhaps he feels that he has missed the boat, perhaps he does not need to stir things up, perhaps Spurs are up to their old tricks again.

My view is simple I have had enough of Victor Wanyama, on his day yes he is superb, but too often this season he has not been at his best, don't forget it's not just the games he missed through suspension, but the time Saints had to play in vital games with only ten men because of his three sendings off.

He either needs to sign a new deal or Saints need to play hardball, Wanyama on top form over 38 games is brilliant, but we didn't get that from him this season, so from that respect it will not be as big a loss as it should have been.

We should not fear losing him in fact we should, if not welcoming it, see it as natural progression, the squad will be stronger with £20 million in the coffers for Wanyama that it will be with him in it on this seasons form.

We have made the point last summer and indeed the one before in keeping players when their contract still has plenty of time to run, Wanyama's will only have a year left this summer, cash in now and strengthen the squad further.

Another top ten finish makes us more attractive to players than most clubs in the Premier, we have a good scouting network we can utilise that well as we have proved in the past.

Time to say goodbye Victor, sad to say that if you go you will not be remembered with the same respect and affection that the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin and Nathaniel Clyne were last summer when they departed.

Photo: Action Images

LennyJam added 11:12 - Apr 21 I think you are living in clud cuckoo land if you think a player at saints, like Wanyama will get us £20m this summer with 12 months on his contratc add the last summers transfer dealings (more miss than hit) means I would worry on us getting a top replacement
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Pulse added 11:30 - Apr 21 not a chance of use getting 20M.. look at clyne
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JGH added 11:33 - Apr 21 Sadly we missed the opportunity to sell him for £20m+ last summer. May recoup what we paid but that would be a good result. On his day fantastic but doesn't have those days enough. If he wants to sign a new deal great, if not no great shakes.
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IWOZTHERE added 12:17 - Apr 21 Should have sold him in the window and started building with those who want to play for us!
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halftimeorange added 12:19 - Apr 21 Having watched Spurs brush a plucky Stoke team aside on Monday it's hardly surprising that Victor wants to play for them. Victor, sadly from your perspective, Spurs don't need you!
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saintsnutcase added 12:39 - Apr 21 Nick - We are not going to get anywhere near 20m for him unless both Spurs and Arsenal want him, and even then they will pay him the extra, not us.
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vanmans added 12:47 - Apr 21 Put the price of £20m on his head. Then teams can take it or leave it. If no one pays the £20m then we keep him. Saints win both ways.
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les5tar added 12:49 - Apr 21 Never in field of human conflict has a man promised so much but delivered dross instead. His attitude speaks volumes for his ambition but does little to enhance his reputation. For somebody who can't pass, can't shoot( his last goal was nothing more than a poke with hope) and I'd actually say can't tackle without fear of a red card. I'd love him go to Noth London and be a big hit with advertising boards when he gets sent off. Wanyama goes jump out of your the pram with your toys and and practice your walk up the tunnel as that's were you seem to like spending your time. And remember the grass is never that green in North London even if you are

1

helpineedsomebody added 13:32 - Apr 21 the boy has stars in his head for me since mp left he has just been going through the motions thats why toby left to slow here in hampshire but in london the bright lights of london where you become a god & believe in your own grand delutions well for a couple of years . if it was my decesion i would just let his contract run down to teach him a very hard lesson for what he did . 1year not playing woud he ever get back the level needed to play in the epl. but is the right way to sell him in the summer get a fee for him & move on ps the locals in london dont even know what county they live in

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SonicBoom added 13:54 - Apr 21 Let's be patient. Maybe MP wanted Vic in order to get into the top 4. Spurs have already made it, there is no guarantee that they still want or need him. Maybe with CL footy on offer they can get someone better now. It might be that VW doesn't have as many takers as he thinks and he's just making noises in order to get a better deal here. If he does go then we'll be luck y to get ten mill like Clyne unless there is a bidding war. Other than Spurs I don't see where else he would go.

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SanMarco added 14:56 - Apr 21 As vanmans says - slap 20m "and not a penny less" on him and see what develops. The obscene money in the PL may mean that standing up to the wantaways becomes easier. If the best bid is 10m then we say no and he sees the contract out. We have to do that with someone soon so why not VW??
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SanMarco added 14:57 - Apr 21 Actually SonicBoom I could see Wet Spam or Everton coming in for him...
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Jesus_02 added 15:23 - Apr 21 We should have stood our ground last year with Clyne. A) we would probably be top 6 B) clubs would know that we mean business when we "play hard ball" He will end up at Spurs for ~6m or Arsenal for between 8-10 Because "We cant afford to risk losing him for nothing". As soon as we demonstrate that we CAN afford to lose players for nothing we might make money on the ones that we do decide to sell. If we had kept Clyne we would have lost 2.5m (except we wouldn't because we would have got SOME money for development) Now I reckon we will lose around 6 on selling VW (remember Celtic will get a chunk as will his other former teams)

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DPeps added 15:59 - Apr 21 Can't really agree with people saying VW is rubbish. His game is a deceptively simple one and he is second to none as a defensive enforcer. Our midfield is not the same without him. However, I reckon Spurs don't need him any more and Asrenal won't buy him (but probably should!). I also get tired of fans complaining about players not honouring contracts. How many players have we bought who have still been under contract at their club? That's football!

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davepid added 17:03 - Apr 21 Good for DPeps. I think he's been an ok purchase for us , done a reasonable job for us occasionally man of the team . I think he does straightforward and so doesn't always stand out with the crowd.
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perazi added 03:44 - Apr 22 I know it's all about different points of view but most of the comments on here about Victor being a waste of space and expendable are crazy. No one could deny that his dummy spit at the start of the season was a mark against him, but the bottom line is he's a unique, strong defensive midfielder who for the most part has put good shifts in for the Club. Before wishing him gone I'd invite you to ponder what's left in midfield an ageing Steven Davis; a yet to prove himself Jordi Clasie, a solid player in Romeu and a much hyped but very little output JWP.

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aceofthebase added 17:39 - Apr 22 Stop knocking VW. He is streets ahead of others such as Clasie,Soares and Juanmi. These may try but they are just not good enough and have cost us many points throughout the season.
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