Wanyama leaves Tottenham to join Henry at MLS

Nairobi, Kenya – Victor Wanyama, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has finally sealed a move away from North London to join Thierry Henry at Montreal Impact, a Major League Soccer (MLS) side.
The Montreal Impact signed Wanyama via a free transfer on a three-year deal after receiving his international transfer certificate and passed his medical.

Wanyama, the skipper of Harambee Stars – the Kenyan’s national team had been with Tottenham since 2016. Before his arrival at North London, he was with Southampton, and Celtic.

The MLS move was as a result of a challenging year for the 28-year-old midfielder who had seen his playing time dwindles at North London in the last year. With a new thrust to do well at Montreal Impact, Wanyama said,
“I am happy that I have finally found a new home. It has been a difficult last few months for me and to finally make a move to get playing time is such a relief. I am delighted with the club; it has a great tradition and great facilities. I had a tour around today, and I can say I am delighted being here.”

Montreal Impact sporting director Olivier Renard in a statement said, “Victor is an important player with a great career. His undeniable experience will also help support the young players to progress in their career.”

The signing marks Montreal’s second addition from Tottenham in 2020 after centre back Luis Binks arrived from their U-23 team late February. Wanyama will also give the Impact another defensive boost in midfield, along with Saphir Taider, and marks their second high-profile addition in the last two transfer windows after signing forward Bojan Krcic.

Wanyama made 97 appearances for Tottenham and, scored seven goals for the club. He was part of last year’s Spurs squad that reached the UEFA Champions League final and previously won a pair of Scottish Premier League titles while at Celtic. He has featured in more than 150 English Premier League games.

“I am really happy to join an exciting club like the Montreal Impact,” Wanyama also said, in a team press release. “MLS continues to grow every season, and I’m looking forward to bringing further awareness to the team, city and league.

“When I spoke to Thierry [Henry], and he told me he wanted me to join him in Montreal, I didn’t have to think twice. He has always been a player that I admired, and I am really happy to get the opportunity to work with him and to play an important role and ensure that the Montreal Impact have an improved season and hopefully reach the ultimate stages of the competitions in which we compete. I think the Saputo family and the management team in Montreal have a great plan in place, and I am hoping I can make a great contribution to the success of the team.”

Montreal is undefeated through three competitive games under the new head coach Thierry Henry, and have booked a spot in the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal round against Honduran side CD Olimpia.

Wanyama, the Harambee Stars’ skipper is finally happy after a spell of injuries at Tottenham which made him unhappy for some months. The midfielder’s woes started with a troublesome knee injury which kept him in and out of action for the 2018/2019 season where he played limited matches. The injury had seen him miss out on a significant part of the Spurs’ pre-season in 2019, and as a result, he had limited performance in the 2019/2020 season.