WATFORD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 01: Kevin Wimmer of Tottenham during the Premier League match between Watford and Tottenham Hotspur at Vicarage Road on January 1, 2017 in Watford, England. (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)
Tottenham analysis: Kevin Wimmer is becoming the new Nabil Bentaleb
Kevin Wimmer is quickly losing ground at Tottenham
Every season it seems that one member of Tottenham’s senior squad inexplicably falls out of favour with manager Mauricio Pochettino. If Kevin Wimmer isn’t very careful, he’s going to become this year’s casualty at Spurs.
Wimmer, along many other Tottenham backups, failed to impress in yesterday’s FA Cup match versus Wycombe. The Austrian defender has been pressed into action lately due to the injury to Pochettino’s regular starter Jan Vertonghen.
When the talented Belgian defender went down, many Spurs fans weren’t very stressed. After all, Wimmer was excellent in relief of Vertonghen last season. There wasn’t any reason to think he wouldn’t be capable of filling in again.
In retrospect, there were serious warning signs when the season began. Pochettino went on record early in the year about his preference for Cameron Carter-Vickers. Choosing to put a relatively untested 19-year-old in the squad ahead of Wimmer in several early fixtures should have alerted everyone that his form had dipped severely.
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Unfortunately, his form hasn’t improved as the season has progressed. Yesterday, he looked well off the pace against a League 2 side. The prospect of playing him regularly in the Premier League has to be quite concerning for Pochettino and his staff.
If Wimmer doesn’t prove to be a reliable backup for Vertonghen over the next several weeks, it will prove fatal to his Tottenham career. Spurs can’t afford to have an unreliable central defender behind Vertonghen. The Belgian tends to miss time every season due to injury. Vertonghen also isn’t getting any younger.
That means that Pochettino and company will be looking for a long-term replacement at centre back. If Wimmer doesn’t prove that he can handle that responsibility, the club will be forced to look for other options in the transfer market. Don’t look for any movement to occur in the January window, but this summer will present Daniel Levy with quite a few options.
That’s precisely why Wimmer should be concerned about becoming the next Nabil Bentaleb. The Algerian midfielder went from one of Pochettino’s favorite players to an exiled star within a matter of months. Wimmer is currently following the exact same career trajectory. If he doesn’t want to end up back in the Bundesliga, he needs to up his game considerably over the next few weeks.
