Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to select Cameron Carter-Vickers over Kevin Wimmer is based on performance.
Yesterday during Mauricio Pochettino’s pre-match press conference, the Tottenham manager shed some light on Kevin Wimmer’s absence.
The Austrian center-back was instrumental in keeping Spurs’ backline running smoothly after Jan Vertonghen suffered a MCL injury on January 23rd against Crystal Palace.
After 21 appearances in all competitions, 10 of which happened in the Premier League where Wimmer helped Spurs remain in the title hunt alongside Leicester City, the 23-year-old was awarded a contract extension in July that keeps him with the club until 2021.
Since then, Wimmer has not been named in Pochettino’s 18-man matchday squad.
Instead, the young U.S. international, Cameron Carter-Vickers has been sitting on the bench for the past five games, except against Sunderland today.
This would normally come as a shock after Kevin Wimmer has looked good when given an opportunity. And although Cameron Carter-Vickers has been hyped up for some time, he is still too young to start a Premier or Champions League match.
So, what’s the reason why Wimmer has been left off during Spurs’ last six matches? According to Mauricio Pochettino, it’s down to performance.
“If you watch again the game against Atlético Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan in pre-season, I think that maybe he [Carter-Vickers] deserves to play in the starting 11,” Pochettino said (via Evening Standard).
“He can give to the team better quality than another player. All my decisions are because I think a player can give more things than another player. It’s for that that I picked him on the bench.”
“Kevin arrived late on the pre-season, was injured remember, he didn’t play in Australia, and Cameron did very well.”
“You can watch the games, and if he deserves to be on the bench, then why not? Because he is young? It’s about performance.”
This isn’t different from how any other manager operates when it comes to selecting certain players leading up to match day.
They pick players based on performances from past games, hoping that they can continue their good form. Or, in the case of Pochettino’s assessment, the 18-year-old Carter-Vickers provides better quality than Wimmer does.
With Wimmer participating in the Euros, it meant that he would need an extended break upon his return. Unfortunately for him, he suffered an eye injury on July 26th before a hamstring injury on August 10th (via Physio Room).
Kevin Wimmer should be healthy now, but when adding the injuries he had and playing in the Euros together, it was obvious that Cameron Carter-Vickers was available whereas Wimmer wasn’t.
This would suggest that the 23-year-old’s grasp on the third-choice center-back spot might be up for grabs if Carter-Vickers continues to be selected ahead of the Austrian international.
Against GIllingham in the League Cup this Wednesday, should Cameron Carter-Vickers start the match — or be selected on the bench for his sixth game this season — questions will continue to linger around Wimmer’s spot on the team.
His future might be in doubt even after signing a long-term deal just two months ago.
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