This article was originally published on February 1st, 2023.
Wolfsburg’s transfer window focused on getting younger players: the 7 names signed combine to an average of 21.14 years old, including Nicolas Cozza (24), a january signing. Until now (01/02/23), Patrick Wimmer, a 21 year-old right winger, have been the biggest standout. Playing for Arminia Bielefeld, Wimmer had a great 21/22 season, being one of the best players in the squad, relegated to the second division. He scored 3 times and assisted 6, while playing almost all the Bundesliga games (31, 27 as a starter).
Wolfsburg recognized his talent and exploited a release clause activaded by Bielefeld’s relegation, signing the austrian winger for a value close to 5 million euros. Under Niko Kovac, Wimmer played the majority of the Bundesliga matches so far, if physically available. Between the 12th and the 16th rounds, Wimmer went on a streak of five consecutive games scoring and/or assisting — after 11 games, he already has 7 direct goal contribuitions in the Bundesliga and looks set to improve his production from last year.
POSITIONING
After a few experiments, Niko Kovac found the best version of Wolfsburg at a 4–3–3. Wimmer have been utilized on both wings, but mainly plays on the right side on the attack, with Jakub Kaminski (another U23 signing) on the left and Wind (sometimes Nmecha) leading the charge.
MOVEMENTS
A right-footed player on the right side of the pitch, Wimmer moves slight diferent than expected. He is confortable opening up the pitch, but normally tends to occupy more central positions, be it at attacking transitions or slower building sequences.
These kind of movements occur when Wolfsburg build-up actions happens on his side of the pitch and he is able to keep the game flowing by rapidly releasing the ball for a teammate (avoiding pyhsical contact and pressure)…
and also when the action begins on the other side: in this case, Wimmer usually makes a diagonal run, attacking the opposition area and exploiting space between the defenders.
Upon receiving in more lateral positions, Wimmer likes to carry the ball for a few meters before looking for a shot or pass opportunity. Again, he usually makes diagonal runs.
Creative skills
These central tendencies are an important factor in the way Wimmer creates chances, directly or not. When occupying central positions from a more lateral initial position, he is able to drag defenders and create space for himself or a teammate to exploit.
In the first sequence below, Wimmer drags Bensebaini wide (horizontally stretching the defensive line) from a more central position, while maintening great body orientation to immediately attack the space behind him and receive the ball with dynamic advantage. These same movement can be used for Wolfsburg’s midfielders, as showed in the other sequences.
When playing closer to the opposition’s box, Wimmer got a great eye for passing opportunities and is able to execute it well, predicting a teammate run and weighting his passes well on some occasions. That is something he also showed at Arminia Bielefeld.
Most of his directly created chances happens on the right half-space, a channel between the center of the pitch and the lateral corridor. At the time of this article (data from 24/01/23), only Kevin de Bruyne (1.15) creates more chances per game than Wimmer (1.05). As we can see, a good percentage of his chances originates from half-spaces.
Dribbling
The austrian is also a really good dribber. Taking data from the 21/22 season, few players across the top 5 european leagues attempted more dribbles than him, a impressive stat considering he played for Arminia Bielefeld (lower average ball possession numbers at the Bundesliga). His numbers were similar to Neymar and Mbappé, both PSG players.
Wimmer likes to dribble when carrying the ball, accelerates quickly and have the technical skills to keep the ball under controle while shifting direction. He also know how to manipulates the defender, changing speed at ease to bypass him.
DEFENSIVE PHASE
Defensively, Wimmer’s role varies accordingly to Niko Kovac’s intentions. During opposition’s goal kicks, normally he is tasked with pressing the left sided defender or the left fullback. Wimmer got the energy to press hard and knows how to angle himself, but could do better at timing his runs, as sometimes he is kinda late and easily bypassed.
When defending at a medium/low block, he is part of the second defensive line (usually Wolfsburg sets up in a 4–4–2/4–1–4–1 system), closing down the right side and watching the fullback/wingback. Nothing special, just the usual role for a winger.
BRIGHT FUTURE
At times when football transfers are more and more expensive, Wolfsburg got himself a bargain, attaining Wimmer for a small value. After a strong first half of the season, the young austrian have already showed some good stuff and can grew even more. If Wolfsburg are to fight for european qualification, they will need more of that to keep pushing, but Wimmer is delivering so far.
End note: Wolfsburg spent the second half of the season alternating between the mentioned 4–3–3 and a 3–5–2 system: Wimmer ended up playing as a secondary striker on some occasions. While his role are different, his qualities remain the same.
