Kevin Wimmer will likely go down as one of the worst signings in the history of Stoke City, a symbol of an age where too much went wrong for the club both off and on the pitch.
Tottenham had signed the player in 2015 from FC Koln, and he wasn’t able to make a success of things for the London club. Despite that, they managed to sell him for more than four times what they paid, with the BBC reporting at the time that Stoke City paid around £18m.
Unfortunately, Wimmer didn’t suddenly turn into a player worthy of paying £18m for in 2017, and it quickly became clear he wouldn’t make much more of a go of things at Stoke than he did at Tottenham.
Now on his third loan away from the club, this time with Karlsruher SC, the German side had made clear their intention to keep Wimmer longer term, which would have given Stoke the opportunity to get rid of him completely.
Kicker say Wimmer has rejected the chance, and they quote a statement from the German club: ‘Kevin has decided against a permanent move to us in Baden. Whether he will return to the English second division team for the coming season or join a new club has not yet been clarified. For the sporting management of the KSC, it is now about finding another central defender to commit.’
Wimmer is now Stoke’s problem again, and they’ll be hoping someone comes in for him quickly so this whole era can be forgotten.
