STOKE HAVE BOLSTERED their defensive resources with the signing of Austrian international Kevin Wimmer on a long-term deal from Tottenham Hotspur.
The 24-year-old moves to the Potteries on a five-year contract after the two clubs agreed a fee of £18 million.
Wimmer was signed by Spurs for £4.3 million from Cologne in 2015 but struggled to break into Mauricio Pochettino’s plans, making just five Premier League appearances last term.
His sale for a profit of nearly £14 million represents another shrewd piece of business by Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, who also had interest from West Brom and Crystal Palace in the player.
Wimmer, who was on the bench for Austria’s World Cup qualifier against Ireland in June, becomes Stoke’s seventh signing of the season following the arrival of Darren Fletcher, Josh Tymon, Kurt Zouma, Bruno Martins Indi, Maxim Choupo-Moting and Jesé Rodriguez.
“Kevin is an undoubted talent and he will significantly add to the quality of the group of players that I already have at my disposal,” manager Mark Hughes said.
“We put a real emphasis on trying to enhance the defensive areas of the squad this summer and we feel that we have been able to do that.”
Wimmer didn’t feature in any of Tottenham’s three league matches to date this season and was pushed further down the pecking order by the arrival of club-record signing of Davinson Sanchez from Ajax last week.
He’ll compete for a starting spot at the Bet365 Stadium with Martins Indi, on-loan Zouma, Geoff Cameron and Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross.
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