Stoke City confirm £18m Kevin Wimmer capture as defender joins from Tottenham

We are really pleased with what we have done this summer, especially in the defensive positions. Bringing Kevin here is a real coup in my view, because he is a hugely talented young player who will undoubtedly add further quality to the group. We have already brought Kurt (Zouma) into the club this summer and managed to get Bruno (Martins Indi) back on a permanent deal as well, which was important to us, and we have Ryan (Shawcross) here too.

At every top Premier League football club there are groups of players in every position chasing those starting spots, and that is the case here, I know I will have to work hard and keep on improving to be successful. There are players of real quality here in every position, and for me that is good, it helps generate good competition for places and drives us on to hopefully progress even further. We have a good talented group of young players here, some very big names too, so it is an exciting time to be part of this club, I can’t wait to get going now.