Transfer story
Crystal Palace have reportedly submitted £15m for the Spurs defender, Kevin Wimmer. Under new boss Frank de Boer, the Eagles have had a dreadful start entering the new Premier League season and the Dutchman already has a lot of issues to scratch his head about.
In their first game they were outclassed by the newly promoted side Huddersfield at Selhurst Park by three goals which wasn’t a good result to start off with. Their defence looked asleep at times and they lacked the concentration and focus that is needed for a Premier League game of 90 minutes.
In their second game, they showed some character but eventually lost to a quality Liverpool attack. Kevin Wimmer is out of the reckoning at Spurs who already have an extremely stable centre-half pairing. The 24-year-old Wimmer is valued close to £20million by Tottenham, although they are likely to sell for an initial £15m plus add ons.
Player stats
In June 2012, Wimmer moved from Austrian side Lask LINZ to German club FC KOLN for a €250,000 transfer fee. He joined Tottenham Hotspur on 29th May 2015 for £4.3 million in a five year contract and made his debut on 30th July. He didn’t get a chance due to stunning partnership between Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.
In January 2016, with Vertonghen ruled out for about two months, Wimmer was set for an extended run as his replacement in both the Premier League and the Europa League knockout stages. Wimmer impressed as Vertonghen’s replacement, making 15 starts across all competitions before Vertonghen returned.
This indeed led to his contract extension. Now he stands, being chased by Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City. He is yet to score in Tottenham colours in spite of appearing 31 times.
What will Wimmer offer Crystal Palace?
He will offer and maintain a stable partnership with Scott Dann. Palace have had too many changes at the back since being promoted. He is 6ft 2in and is good in the air, physically strong and a good one on one defender.
Having spent almost 2 years at the north London club, he will bring in some ideas from a big club which will suit Palace, who rely too much on their pacy wingers, Townsend and Zaha and their target man, Christian Benteke and suffer at the back.
Worth the money
Wimmer might be more gifted, physical, or technically sounder that the current crop at Palace. However, he hasn’t played much which means he could turn out to be a bad buy if he isn’t able to hit the form he showed when he was given a good run in the team by Pochettino.
For the touted fee, and keeping in mind today’s market dynamics, he could be a decent addition in the long-run, though.
