The Kenya international hit the ground running in Glasgow and immediately became an important player for Lennon, with 42 appearances in all competitions – including five starts in the Europa League.
In 22 outings as a defensive midfielder, the young enforcer caught the eye with four goals and four assists, which showed that he could push forward to join in with attacks to go along with his natural defensive instincts at the base of the midfield.
Victor Wanyama’s record in 2011/12 (Celtic) |
Competition |
Appearances |
Goals |
Assists |
Premiership |
32 |
6 |
3 |
SFA Cup |
5 |
1 |
1 |
Champions League |
7 |
1 |
0 |
League Cup |
2 |
0 |
0 |
Champions League qualifiers |
3 |
1 |
0 |
Stats via Transfermarkt |
As you can see in the table above, Wanyama continued to prove his worth to Celtic in his second season with the Scottish giants, with nine goals and four assists in all competitions.
His displays were impressive enough for Lennon, his manager at Parkhead, to describe him as a “world class” player, which speaks to the level of his performances.
How much Celtic sold Victor Wanyama for
After winning two Premiership titles and securing a Scottish Cup trophy in two campaigns with the Hoops, the Kenyan star attracted interest from Premier League side Southampton.
The Saints swooped in to sign him for a reported fee of £12.5m in the summer of 2013, which was a Scottish record transfer fee at the time and showed that they hit gold with the superb gem.
That piece of business represented a masterclass from the Scottish giants, as Celtic raked in £12.5m for a player they paid £900k for just two years prior.
That fee was £2.5m more than the club have just paid for Engels to snap him up from Augsburg and, hopefully, Rodgers will end up looking back on that deal in the same way that Lennon does with Wanyama now.
It is now up to the Belgian youngster to, first, break into the midfield ahead of the likes of Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, and Paulo Bernardo, and then shine in a Celtic shirt.
Wanyama hit the ground running and was an important player for the Hoops in both of his seasons with the club, but that does not mean that Engels has to go down the same path.
At the age of 20, there is plenty of time left for the central midfielder to grow and develop over the years to come, as a long-term project for Rodgers, and that means that there is no rush for him to make an immediate and big impact in the first-team, despite the transfer fee.
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