Stoke City have signed defender Kevin Wimmer from Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur for 18 million pounds ($23 million) on a five-year contract.

The 24-year-old Austria international has not played for Spurs this season, though he made 31 appearances in all competitions for the club since joining from Cologne in 2015.

Stoke announced the signing on their official Twitter feed on Tuesday and manager Mark Hughes said that he was satisfied with the club's efforts to strengthen the defence.

"Kevin is an undoubted talent. He will significantly add to the quality of the group of players that I already have," Hughes tweeted.

"We put a real emphasis on trying to enhance the defensive areas of the squad this summer. We feel that we have been able to do that."

Wimmer is Stoke's fourth permanent signing of the current window, and follows centre back Bruno Martins Indi, midfielder Darren Fletcher and Cameroon forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to the club.

Hughes' has also brought in forward Jese Rodriguez on a season-long loan from Paris St Germain and defender Kurt Zouma on a similar deal from Chelsea.

"I had some really good conversations with the manager... and they were important for me," Wimmer told Stoke's website. (www.stokecityfc.com)

"I like the way he approaches the game, his style of play suits the way I like to play too -- he likes his defenders to be able to play out with the ball."

($1 = 0.7711 pounds)

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)