Austrian defender Kevin Wimmer has revealed how he was left shocked by how unprofessional Stoke City were following his move from Tottenham.
The defender originally joined Tottenham from FC Koln in July 2015 but would spend a disappointing two years with Spurs playing back up to the likes of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.
He was thus sold to Stoke City in a £17.46m deal in August 2017, with Tottenham making a major profit and the player believing he would end up with regular first team football.
That did not prove to be the case, though, with him managing just 19 appearances in all competitions for the club before and spending loan spells at Hannover 96, Mouscron and Karlsruher SC.
He eventually left for Rapid Vienna on a free transfer in July 2021, bringing an end to a disastrous spell in the Potteries and England in general.
“The transfer fee was of course a big deal. On the one hand I was incredibly proud, but on the other hand I couldn’t really grasp or even realise that figure,” he told them.
“At that point I was really keen to attack with Stoke, wanted to tackle, make a difference.
“If I’m honest, I was shocked: at Tottenham, every nuance was taken care of, both in training and off the pitch. The best example is the diet: every intolerance was taken care of. There was a gluten-free offer, there was a vegan offer.
“At Stoke you could even order fish and chips for lunch. While at Tottenham you had to beg for a day off, at Stoke, Wednesdays were generally free.
“So, I thought, I don’t know if this can work. So I hired a personal trainer to make good use of the day off.”
