German outfit FC Cologne have rejected rumours that they are about to bring back Kevin Wimmer from Tottenham, according to ESPN. Wimmer joined Spurs in a €6 million deal back in the summer of 2015. The Austrian was seen as a perfect complement to either Jan Vertonghen or Toby Alderweireld should either of them get injured. At 24 years of age, he seems to be at the perfect time to offer enough experience and the quality whenever he is called upon into the first-team. First-team action, though, has been extremely limited for the player, especially this season.
He has started only three league matches so far this season and it does not look like the situation is going to improve anytime soon. Wimmer has been unable to impress manager Pochettino to warrant a first-team spot ahead of Toby Alderweireld or Jan Vertonghen. The form of the team in the last few weeks has certainly not helped matters. One of the major disappointments for Wimmer was his inability to get into the first-team when Alderweireld was unavailable for almost 2 months due to an injury.
Cologne sporting director Jorg Schmadtke has now confirmed that there is no truth in the rumours linking the German outfit with a move for their former player in this January transfer window. He said:
“Kevin was here. His situation at Spurs could be better, but it’s not like Tottenham prevented anything.
“We did not start an official request with Tottenham. The story I’ve read is not entirely correct. If he had expressed the wish to change something, we’d have talked about it.”
Spurs are expected to strengthen the squad in a number of areas in order to aid them in the Premier League title race. Aside from having to deal with the rigours of playing in the Premier league and FA Cup, the club will also have to concentrate on the Europa league knockout stages. Since the latter provides a realistic opportunity to reach the Champions League group stages next season, Pochettino is unlikely to field a weakened team this time around. Even though strengthening is expected to take place in the next 20 days, it is looking highly unlikely that Spurs will retain the players who have been unable to get much of game time this season.
Ben Davis, Vincent Janssen, and Wimmer seem the likely candidates for a move away from the club in January. Even if they move, it may be on a loan deal in the case of players like Janssen. Given that Wimmer’s situation has not improved in almost 2 years at the club, it is highly likely that he may look for a permanent switch away from the White Hart Lane. The only issue may be his extended contract, which runs until the summer of 2021. It puts Spurs in an extremely strong position as far as negotiating a transfer fee for the player goes.
