Tottenham Don’t Need Kevin Wimmer; They Have Cameron Carter-Vickers

Tottenham Hotspur’s first-choice central-defensive pairing is one of the finest in the Premier League. You’ll struggle to find a better combination of balance, cohesiveness, raw defensive skills and ball-playing talents than that of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen.

They’re immovable as a duo. When they’re fit, they play.

It has left Tottenham’s other centre-backs exceptionally short of game time, and Kevin Wimmer—signed last summer from FC Koln—is now reportedly unsettled and willing to consider a move away from the club, per Kleine Zeitung (h/t HITC).

Indeed, the weekend’s Premier League match against Liverpool saw Wimmer fail to make the squad of 18, amid murmurs among the press pack at White Hart Lane that he and Mauricio Pochettino had fallen out over playing time.

He had originally been slated to begin the season alongside Alderweireld due to Vertonghen’s ankle injury sustained during Euro 2016, but the Belgian made a miraculous recovery and lined up fit on the opening day.

With Eric Dier having been redefined as a superb holding midfielder, Wimmer technically represents the only dedicated senior backup to the Toby-Jan axis. That he is disgruntled and may fancy a move, then, is concerning, given that Spurs will need more than two or three centre-backs to compete on multiple fronts this season.

But pre-season laid the groundwork for a new potential star to rise, as Cameron Carter-Vickers was handed a significant chunk of playing time in the absence of the club’s recovering Euro 2016 participants and impressed greatly. He was the reserve central defender named on the bench against the Reds and might just be on the cusp of a first-team breakthrough.

Athleticism and Size Allows Tight Marking

Carter-Vickers stands a shade over 6’0″ and is still growing. It’s conceivable he’ll reach 6’2” or 6’3”, enabling him to become a dominant aerial presence in the years to come.

The 18-year-old’s speed and quickness will raise eyebrows, with his long legs churning into gear fast and allowing him to cover short and long distances in rapid time. It’s rare you’ll see a man his size move as quickly as he does—particularly in the first five yards.

As a result of these athletic gifts, he naturally gravitates to the riskier side of the game. Rather than stand off attackers and give them a yard to keep them firmly in sight, he matches up closely and marks tightly, backing himself to match strikers over the top and into the channels. Perhaps coming up against Jamie Vardy would see a change of tact, …

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