Within minutes of his Tottenham Hotspur debut, Victor Wanyama was demonstrating textbook defensive-midfield work. He tracked Everton's Ross Barkley into the left-back area, put him under pressure and then tackled him before passing to Danny Rose, who safely scarpered forward.Wanyama's next contribution showed the fine margins within which he and positional peers have to operate in their protective duties.Kevin Mirallas ran in behind his unaware central-midfield partner Eric Dier, and the Kenyan reacted well to get across. His sliding challenge did not win the ball, but nor did it warrant the Belgian's theatrical reaction and subsequent free-kick.Barkley scored from the subsequent set piece, handing Everton a 1-0 lead. Within 10 minutes, Tottenham had seen two sides of Wanyama, a simplified showcase of how he may come to affect the team's midfield dynamics.Erik Lamela's second-half equaliser ensured his team-mate's first Premier League appearance for Tottenham would not be remembered for his costly foul. Overall it was an adequate performance from which Wanyama can look to build on.It is likely he is going to get further opportunities to do so, too, as Mousa Dembele still has three matches remaining of the suspension he received for an altercation with Diego Costa in last May's 2-2 draw with Chelsea.Speaking ahead of the Everton game, Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted "it's true that Mousa was important for us last season and is a big loss for us for the first few games, but we need to deal with that."The north Londoners missed Dembele's influence in central midfield when he was unavailable as 2015-16 progressed.Pochettino specifically mentioned Dele Alli's absence as costly in their rough final month, too.The younger player had been situated in a deeper role earlier in the campaign and returned there to cover for Dembele. His active, all-action shaping of proceedings may have ensured Spurs did not miss the Belgian's contributions so muchfor instance in December's 2-1 loss to Newcastle United or January's 1-1 draw with Everton. Alli was still typically lively in these games, but his focus was predominantly in the final third rather than igniting things in the midfield engine room.Wanyama was signed with such deputising duty in mind, a vital addition to the squad's ranks as they prepare for the demands of playing in four competitions. Prior to playing Everton, Pochettino was confident of the new man's ability to work here and will still be now after the game."I think Victor is a player who knows us and how we work and the philosophy and was easy for him to adapt his quality, his skill in the team," the Argentinian said of a player he had bought forSouthampton three years earlier. "From day one of pre-season he feels very comfortable and settled in the team."Described by Pochettino as "strong" and having "good quality with the ball," Wanyama showed both attributes at Everton. He did indeed look comfortable as part of the team, albeit more so when the game shifted direction in the second half.Until then Spurs had found themselves largely stuck up against Ronald Koeman's Toffees. Unable to break down their numbers at the back, struggling to deal with the persistent and penetrative runs of Gerard Deulofeu and Mirallas at their own end.In between all this, Wanyama and Dier attempted to figure out how they may impact on the game.Individually, the 25-year-old new recruit was selfless and largely efficient filling the Dembele void. Although conceding a couple of further fouls on Mirallas, his defensive work was generally on point.Wanyama did stop the Belgian getting anywhere in one attack down the right and soon after won a free-kick of his own from him. He was on hand to head back a loose ball to Hugo Lloris, and again alert outside the Spurs penalty box later to clear following a failed Deulofeu run.Playing mostly to Dier's left, the two combined to squeeze space in wide areas well enough (a big part of what Pochettino wants from his midfield pair, whoever is playing). Spurs' frequent losses of possession further forward led to them subsequently being bypassed, though, unable to do much to stop Everton going directly in between the lines.On first watch, the two felt almost too similar to work as a duo.A big part of both players' respective games is providing support for their full-backs and attacking midfielders, as well as dropping back to collect the ball from their centre-backs.Two of Wanyama's best moments here included a nice turn and pass for Rose after taking Dier's cushioned header, as well as a ball for Jan Vertonghen that opened things up and led to a Harry Kane run into the box (the striker was ridiculously penalised when the lightweight Ramiro Funes Mori fell over trying to muscle him off the ball). But with Dier offering similar, it felt like Spurs lacked the kind of advances Dembele takes it upon himself to instigate.It is true Wanyama did not offer much in the way of purposeful dribbling in the first halfone forward foray led to an overhit pass for Kane down the left-hand channel. But on review he was not just sitting back either. On several occasions he got forward only to see others too easily give it away or be tackled, wasting his effort.Spurs' malaise was on the shoulders of their sluggish attacking quartet and the more urgent, stifling work of the Everton defence. Even Dembele bounding forward from midfield would have found the going tough in such circumstances.A few things changed after the interval.The Tottenham attack was far more vibrant and began to cause the now-flagging Merseyside outfit's defence more problems.With and without the ball, the interchanges in position between Alli, Christian Eriksen, Kane and Lamela were far more purposeful, while substitute and Spurs' other debutant, Vincent Janssen, barely allowed Everton's back line a moment's rest.The latter's introduction saw Dier replaced, meaning Wanyama was handed the responsibility for the central-midfield areas.This not only led to him suddenly becoming as thrilling as Dembele at his dynamic best, it also hinted that Spurs may be able to get by at certain points without the Belgian and Dier.With Kane playing more off of Janssen, this led to Alli and Eriksen looking to direct things from a little deeper and earlier in possession themselves. The visitors consequently became less rigid than they were in the 4-2-3-1 (looking akin to something like a misshapen diamond midfield now), asking more of Everton with their better movement while knowing Wanyama was still there as insurance.Going closer to enemy territorybe it joining in an attack or looking to close down a possible opposition breakWanyama looked a little torn between going to engage Everton and not wanting to leave his defence exposed.Even then his defensive instincts still came through, notably on one occasion getting back to stop Idrissa Gueye with a sliding tackle in the area after his midfield counterpart had moments earlier bypassed him with a ball left to Deulofeu.Wanyama showed good judgement and in-game thinking dropping back to cover for a Toby Alderweireld run forward later in the second half, too.Earlier the Kenyan had initially hovered forward hesitantly when the centre-back had gotten forward to lead the buildup for Lamela's goal, teeing up Kyle Walker's assisting cross (a loss of possession may have proved costly with both right-sided defenders upfield).Save for one late moment of miscommunication with Vertonghen that led to a dangerous Barkley-led attack down the right, Wanyama did just about everything asked of him."I'm very happy with Victor, his performance was great and so was the team's," Pochettino told Tottenham's official website, though he admitted his disappointment tht their improved efforts did not earn a win.Moving forward, the coaching staff will want to work on Wanyama's personality coming more to the surface.Dembele and Dier work so well as a midfield partnership as they are proactive and communicative, looking to impose themselves in all aspects of their play. Forcing his way into this will take the former Celtic man a little time, and he may have to be prepared for eventually assuming a deputising role behind the tried-and-trusted duo.This initial demonstration of his core skill set bodes well for him providing reliable and effective competition for places, though. Wanyama and his new midfield team-mates will need a little time to figure out the most suitable balance of their services, but he should prove money well spent in the long term.Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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