Playing for 90
Fansided

This Tottenham defender must come of age against Manchester City

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 06: Ben Davies (L) and Kevin Wimmer (R) of Tottenham Hotspur celebrate their 1-0 win after the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Watford at White Hart Lane on February 6, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 06: Ben Davies (L) and Kevin Wimmer (R) of Tottenham Hotspur celebrate their 1-0 win after the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Watford at White Hart Lane on February 6, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Tottenham centre back Kevin Wimmer must stand tall in Jan Vertongthen’s absence against Manchester City

Much of the injury talk surrounding Sunday’s clash between Tottenham and Manchester City has focused on Manuel Pellegrini’s side. One absence that isn’t getting nearly the attention it deserves, is the fact that Spurs centre back Jan Vertonghen will certainly miss the match. That places starlet Kevin Wimmer squarely in the Premier League spotlight this Sunday.

More from Playing for 90

The young Austrian is inexperienced to put it mildly as it relates to the Premier League. He’s only appeared in three EPL matches in his career, all of which have occurred in the aftermath of Vertonghen’s injury. Wimmer will take a big step up in class Sunday after easing into his starting role versus Watford and Norwich over the last two weeks.

This week, Wimmer will need to partner with Toby Alderweireld to keep Spurs nemesis, Sergio Aguero, off the score sheet. The Argentine striker has scored more against Tottenham than any other current Premier League player. He also enters the contest as a striker very much in-form.

While stopping Aguero will certainly be the responsibility of the entire Tottenham squad, Wimmer will have to play a significant role. Spurs can ill-afford to let Aguero get an inch of space on the ball. He’s shown time and time again that he can create chances out of thin air.

Wimmer’s play has been encouraging in Vertonghen’s absence. Spurs have kept clean sheets in both of his Premier League starts, and he put in a particularly strong shift in the club’s 3-0 drubbing of Norwich. His play against the Canaries earned him an impressive Whoscored.com player rating of 7.77 for the match. He hasn’t looked out-of-place at all subbing in for the Belgian international.

Still, his ability to play against a striker like Aguero is a huge question mark for Mauricio Pochettino in advance of Sunday’s match. It’s not as if the Spurs manager has any other choices available to him, aside from moving Eric Dier back to his old position, but it still has to make him a nervous. Wimmer just hasn’t been put in such a crucial match before in his young playing career.

The good news is that the Austrian has proven to have a cool head in his short Spurs career. He has put in solid shifts for the club and hasn’t been prone to rash challenges or losing his positional awareness. His concentration has been one of his strongest traits during his starts. He’ll need to maintain that focus to keep Aguero off the score sheet on Sunday.

What is a concern about Wimmer’s game is his lack of quickness against the cat-like City striker. He hasn’t shown an ability to nimbly make his way around world-class strikers to win the ball without fouling. Spurs fans should be concerned that he might find himself bamboozled by the tricky Argentine.

Related Story: 5 keys to Tottenham versus Manchester City

Kevin Wimmer will need help from his Tottenham teammates to keep Sergio Aguero off the score sheet on Sunday. Even if he gets a ton of help, it will be the biggest test of the Austrian defender’s young Premier League career.

Home/Manchester City