Stoke City announced the signing of Austrian centre-back Kevin Wimmer from Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday morning.
The defender is Stoke's seventh signing of this summer's transfer window and is the second centre-half to be brought in by Mark Hughes.
The 24-year-old has signed a five-year deal with the Potters with the fee widely believed the be in the region of £18. Will Wimmer improve Stoke City's defense?
Beginnings and Premier League move:
Kevin Wimmer started his playing career in his native Austria with LASK Linz before his first big move to FC Köln in 2012.
The imposing centre-back started 24 of a possible 25 Bundesliga matches in a stunning debut season in Germany. His composure and physicality attracted the attentions of some of Europe's best - and he subsequently signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 2015.
Wimmer made his Spurs debut against the MLS All-Stars of 2015 and his performance warranted a start against Real Madrid in the Audi Cup.
It became clear that Wimmer wouldn’t be a player that would start every game when Tottenham signed Toby Alderweireld, who would go onto make some big impressions in the other pre-season games.
So, as expected, Wimmer's game time was restricted. When Alderweireld got injured in the last games of the 2015/16 season, though, Wimmer was Mauricio Pochettino’s first choice replacement. In total, Wimmer made 21 appearances that during his first season in England.
This number was more than halved next term as Spurs continued to improve, with most of those appearances coming from the bench. So when Tottenham signed Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez, it became clear that there was no place in the team for Wimmer anymore.
His hunger to progress that made him so attractive to Spurs in the first place has lead him to leave the north London outfit in order to increase his game time.
So after a total of 31 appearances in two seasons for Tottenham, it was time to leave. Next destination being: Stoke City.
What will Wimmer bring to Stoke City?
Stoke City's acquisition of Kevin Wimmer might seem a strange one of paper. Having signed Bruno Martins Indi and added Kurt Zouma on loan, Mark Hughes already had five centre-backs at his disposal.
Many Stoke fans will be forgiven for thinking about which defender is going to be left out of the starting XI or sold? Even in today's climate, leaving a £18m centre-back on the bench does not seem ideal for Stoke.
The most logical thing to say would be that he’s the replacement for captain Ryan Shawcross, who has been rumoured to be leaving Staffordshire.
The likely-hood is that Wimmer will add further competition for a place in the back three or four while also being a ready-made replacement for Zouma when the Frenchman returns to Chelsea.
Wimmer seems as though he would fit in perfectly the Stoke's new system due to his defensive prowess and ability on the ball - which is highly beneficial with fast wingers like Shaqiri and Jesé.
His height - 6'2" - and aerial ability will make Stoke's defense even more imposing and should help shut teams out during the 2017/18 season.
"I'm delighted to be here"
In his first interview as a Stoke City player, Wimmer expressed his delight to be at the bet365 Stadium with the Austrian discussing to the manager and competition for places.
“I had some good conversations with the manager, Mark Hughes." He said. "I think he’s a very good manager and his idea of football is the same as mine. He likes to play up from the back, which I’m very good at.
“I think that at every good Premier League club, it’s normal that there are two or more players that can play in the same position. The competition you have in your own team makes the team even better.
"I'm delighted to be here. To be at such a nice club with a big tradition."
Kevin Wimmer could make his home debut against Manchester United after the international break.