West Brom manager Tony Pulis has denied the claims that the Baggies are close to landing Kevin Wimmer this summer. In an exclusive report, the Daily Telegraph claimed that West Brom are in talks with Tottenham over a £15million move for Kevin Wimmer, who only managed four Premier League starts last season. Even in his debut season, the Austrian international could only manage a mere 10 Premier League appearances, hence, sparking rumours of a return to FC Köln midway through the previous season. Telegraph further claimed that Baggies boss Tony Pulis started Wimmer’s pursuit after Middlesbrough brushed off Baggies’ two bids for Ben Gibson. Tottenham, on their part, are reportedly ready to sell Wimmer given the fact that they have completed the signing of Ajax’s 21-year-old defender Davinson Sánchez for a £42million fee. Furthermore, the report also states that likes of Stoke City and Crystal Palace also showed a potential interest, but West Brom have edged ahead and were in “an advanced stage” of the negotiation. The news came just days after it was reported that Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola had made Baggies’ skipper Jonny Evans his target and that he even made a £18million bid for the defender, but to no effect. Addressing the same, Pulis has denied all the rumours of ‘Wimmer to West Brom’.
“Whoever is saying it (Wimmer) is close is miles away from that fact. We’ve got a lot of irons in the fire and we hope to get deals done and they have to be right for the football club,” Pulis was quoted by IBTimes.
Pulis is known for his defensive resilience, hence the reported pursuit of Wimmer and Ben Gibson isn’t a revelation. He has already lost one of their last season’s top performers, Gareth McAuley to a thigh injury, while Evans himself is nursing an injury. All this, however, didn’t affect their performance in the Premier League opener, with Ahmed Hegazy and Craig Dawson delivering what was promised. Tottenham, on the other hand, need to find an ideal panacea for Wimmer’s future. The Austrian, at 24, needs regular game time and although the Lilywhites have the Champions League to play for, it is highly unlikely that Wimmer will be used. https://youtu.be/4sRxrc-fbKI
