Wanyama champing at the bit to play in Premier League

Victor Wanyama admits he is ‘excited’ and ‘buzzing’ at the prospect of lining up for his new club Southampton on the opening day of this season’s English Premier League campaign.

The ‘Saints will kick off their campaign against West Brom at the Hawthorns on August 17, and the former Celtic midfielder, who joined the Premiership club in a record deal, says he cant wait to make his competitive debut.

“I cant wait (for the EPL to start)” he told the Daily Nation. “This has always been my ambition since I moved to Europe, I wanted so much to feature in this league and the opportunity is fast approaching,” the 22-year-old Harambee Stars captain added.

Wanyama has also thanked Kenyans for their ‘support’ over the last couple of seasons, adding that he ‘will not let them down’ in his new venture.

Been a learning process

“My brothers and sisters back home have always supported me and speak positively about our achievements, I have no doubt that this will continue, especially considering their passion for watching English Premier League”.

On his time at Southampton thus far, Wanyama responded: “It has been a learning process for me since I linked up with my teammates but the transition has been great, thanks to the support from everyone. Their isn't much difference from the training methods here compared to what we used to do at Celtic, though it takes much longer and is more intense. I honestly can't wait to make my bow” Wanyama told the Daily Nation.

Southampton returned to the south coast of England for a few days this week following a tour of Austria, the highlights of which were a 2-0 defeat to top German side Schalke and a 3-1 victory over Turkish giants Besiktas.

Wanyama played a half in both those games as former Espanyol manager Mauricio Pochettino sought to give as many of his squad as possible pre-season playing time.

The Saints are off again this weekend for a match against Celta Vigo in Spain before returning to England once more to play another Spanish side Real Sociedad.