Stoke outcast Wimmer joins Hannover on season-long loan deal that could be made permanent

The summer exodus from relegated Stoke City began in earnest on Sunday after defender Kevin Wimmer completed an early loan move to Hannover 96.

Wimmer will spend the entire 2018/19 season at Niedersachsenstadion and a statement released by Stoke confirmed that the terms of the agreement 'carry the potential for the deal to be made permanent' for a fee believed to be in the region of £11million.

The 25-year-old was signed by Mark Hughes for a hefty £18million in August 2017, but made just 19 appearances across all competitions as Stoke saw their 10-year stay in the Premier League come to an end after they amassed just 33 points and slumped to a 19th-place finish.

Wimmer, who is under contract in the Potteries for another four years, last featured as a half-time substitute in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford in mid-January and did not play at all following Paul Lambert's appointment as successor to Hughes.

He was placed on a special fitness regime in March and subsequently turned out for Wade Elliott's Under-23 side.

Austrian international Wimmer evidently did not figure in the immediate plans of new boss Gary Rowett, who replaced Lambert in the bet365 Stadium dugout last week after leading Derby County to the Championship play-off semi-finals.

Wimmer will certainly not be the only player to depart Stoke over the coming weeks, with the likes of Joe Allen, Xherdan Shaqiri, Jack Butland and Badou Ndiaye all expected to have numerous suitors.

Other big-money disappointments such as record signing Giannelli Imbula and Saido Berahino could also be offloaded, while Kurt Zouma, Kostas Stafylidis and Jese Rodriguez were all on loan.

Stephen Ireland, Glen Johnson and Jakob Haugaard are all out of contract, meanwhile. Dutch midfielder Ibrahim Afellay was told to stay away from Stoke by Lambert in March.