As transfers go, it’s fair to say that Kevin Wimmer’s from Tottenham to Stoke City has been anything but a success.
Bought for £17m despite him only making 31 appearances over two seasons at Spurs, the Austrian defender has played just 19 times for the Potters, and spent most of his contract (which runs until 2022) on loan at other clubs.
Last season, he went to Hannover 96, who decided to not buy him in the end, meaning he returned to the bet365 Stadium and needed to find himself another club.
Late in the summer transfer window, another temporary spell was sorted out, with Royal Excel Mouscron willing to take a gamble on the 27-year-old.
It’s gone fairly well, but an injury has impeded his time there, allowing him to play only 13 times so far in all competitions.
He’s back now, however, and ready to prove to everyone he still has what it takes to play at a high level, which he’ll need to do if he wants to find himself a new club for next season.
Mouscron don’t have an option to make the move permanent, meaning he’s bound to return to Stoke once the 2019/20 campaign is over.
When he does, a decision will need to be made, but L’Avenir reckon his future will be somewhere other than in Staffordshire.
They write: “The player loaned by Stoke City knows that he needs to get a maximum of game time and prove himself to find a club next season, unless the Potters decide to keep him. To be honest, that’s unlikely as things stand”.
Not the greatest vote of confidence, but with the former Premier League club currently languishing in 21st in the Championship after 30 games, we doubt Wimmer and the Potters will want anything to do with each other upon his return.
Plus, a sale, regardless of the price (Stoke aren’t getting their money back), would free a chunk of salary off their wage bill.
They better hope Wimmer has a cracking second half of the season in Belgium, then.
