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There are question marks over Kevin Wimmer's long-term future in the Bundesliga with a stay at Hannover 96 in serious doubt, according to reports from Germany.

Signed by Spurs from Koln back in 2015, the Austrian departed north London after only two seasons having struggled to force his way into Mauricio Pochettino's starting XI.

A big-money move to Stoke City looked like it would give the defender another chance in the Premier League, but he only appeared in 19 games for the Potters and failed to feature again following their 3-0 defeat at Manchester United in January.

Their subsequent relegation meant that the club had to try and get him off the books and he ended up joining Hannover on loan with the option of making the move permanent.

According to German publication Kicker back in December, Wimmer would join the club on a permanent basis for €12million once he had made 24 competitive appearances for the team.

However, reports from the same publication (via Sport Witness) claim that he could be left out of the team between now and the end of the season to avoid triggering the clause as he is on 22 appearances at present.

Hannover are currently bottom of the Bundesliga and it appears that they will be dropping down a division unless their form drastically improves in their remaining seven games.

(Image: Jörg Schüler/Getty Images)

It is believed that the club's original plan was for Wimmer to make a big impression this season and then sell him for a profit in the summer, yet there is very little chance of that happening as he hasn't exactly caught the eye.

The fact that they are set for relegation also means that they really can't afford to splash out €12m on the defender when the money can be utilised better elsewhere.

A return to Stoke now looks on the cards but they will want to move him on as they bid to improve on a poor first season back in the Championship.

Wimmer certainly wouldn't have predicted his career panning out this way after securing a dream move to Spurs nearly four years ago.

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