When Stoke City spent £17.5m on Kevin Wimmer, few could believe it, and the fact the centre-back is now on loan at Hannover 96 says everything you need to know about the situation.
Unable to help the Potters avoid relegation last year, the 25-year-old wasn’t in the club’s plans for the Championship, and a solution was found for everyone.
A regular early on in the season, Wimmer has since only played 29 minutes of football over the past three games, but that hasn’t stopped him from enjoying himself at his new side.
In fact, speaking to Kicker, the Stoke loanee has expressed his desire to stay in Germany if he possibly can.
He said: “That’s my goal, but it’s not up to me.”
That is indeed the case, as a prolonged stay with Hannover would need the Bundesliga outfit to spend €12m on his services, as was previously agreed when the loan deal was defined, but Kicker don’t believe that will happen.
They state the Germans ‘won’t be in a position to afford him’ when the time comes, possibly alluding to their poor start to the season, which sees them currently stay 15th in the Bundesliga, tied on points and goal difference with 16th placed Schalke.
