Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a €6m (£4.3m) deal with FC Köln to sign the central defender Kevin Wimmer in the summer.
The 22-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough season at the German club, starting in 24 of their 25 Bundesliga matches, and he has impressed Tottenham with his composure, physicality and aerial ability.
Wimmer, who is 6ft 2in tall, moved to FC Köln from Linz in his native Austria for €250,000 in 2012. He fits the profile of the type of player that Tottenham want to add, as he is young, talented and hungry to progress.
The club are determined to build for the longer term and over the duration of the manager Mauricio Pochettino’s five-year contract. In January, he oversaw the signings of DeAndre Yedlin, the 21-year-old right-back from the Seattle Sounders, and Dele Alli, the 18-year-old midfielder from MK Dons. Alli has been loaned back to the Dons for the remainder of the season.
Pochettino has placed his faith in many young players since his arrival from Southampton last summer, including Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Harry Kane. Wimmer’s arrival will place further question marks against the White Hart Lane futures of the centre-backs Younès Kaboul and Vlad Chiriches. Kaboul was surprisingly given the club captaincy in the early weeks of the season but he has since fallen from favour.
