Three years on, Spurs’ decision to sell Kevin Wimmer to Premier League rivals Stoke City looks like a Daniel Levy masterstroke?
Daniel Levy is not exactly Mr Popular in North London these days.
But, while Tottenham’s much-maligned chairman has a lot to answer for in the eyes of many a Spurs fanatic, from the lack of investment in the playing staff to the decision to replace a purist with a pragmatist on the touchline, Levy’s decision to cash in on Kevin Wimmer now looks like nothing short of a masterstroke.
In the summer of 2017, the departure of a promising 24-year-old centre-half left the Tottenham faithful divided.
Wimmer had shown plenty of potential in his two seasons in the Premier League and, with Jan Vertonghen not getting any younger, he looked every inch a long-term replacement for the long-serving Belgian.
But, when he sealed that £17 million move to Stoke City three summers past, few would have predicted that things would go so badly, so quickly.
Believe it or not, one of the most expensive flops in recent Premier League history is still, technically speaking a Stoke City player, albeit one who hasn’t worn the red and white stripes since January 2018.
These days, Wimmer is out of sight and out of mind, stuck in the middle of the Belgian Jupiler League table.
At 27, the Austrian should be in the prime of his career. Instead, his current employers, Royal Excel Mouscron, are closer to the bottom of the league than they are to the top.
For £17 million, Tottenham’s gain was most certainly Stoke’s loss. What’s more, there are still another two years remaining on his Potters contract.
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