Kevin Wimmer talks about why he decided to leave Tottenham Hotspur
Speaking to football.london in an interview, Kevin Wimmer revealed that it was the acquisition of Davinson Sanchez that proved to be the final straw as he sealed a Tottenham Hotspur exit in 2017.
The Austrian defender was signed by Mauricio Pochettino in the summer of 2015 from Bundesliga side, Koln. He had a productive first season where he made 21 appearances in all competitions, including a run of 10 games when Jan Vertonghen was sidelined.
But that changed in the second season as his game time reduced. The club already had Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, and Eric Dier to play in the centre-back role.
And signing Sanchez in 2017 after he had an impressive year at Ajax left no doubt in Wimmer’s mind that he was now even lower in the pecking order.
“…for me it was clear in my second season there was like Toby, Jan and Eric Dier, who was also playing more like a centre-back than central midfield, and then after they signed Sanchez and for me, it was clear I was maybe the fifth-choice centre-back.”
On the decline
The 28-year-old defender mentioned that he knew his hard work in training would not translate into a lot of game time; that is why he decided to move, despite him having no other qualms with the club.
“The team was amazing, staff and manager everything was great, but for me it was just clear that if I stay I won’t play and I’ll train all the time but not get a lot of game time. That’s why I made the move.”
He moved to Stoke City in an eye-watering £18m move, but things have gone downhill for him since then. Wimmer has been loaned out thrice since then and currently plays for Karlsruher SC in the second-tier of German football.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Transfer News: Tottenham set to battle Chelsea for Andrea Belotti
- Southampton initiate contract talks with Tottenham target Jannik Vestergaard
- Transfer News: Tottenham ready to sell Harry Winks amid La Liga interest
Before this, he was demoted by Stoke and played in Premier League 2 and it seems like there is a lot for him to do if he wants to touch the heights that he did almost half a decade back.
