KYLE WALKER-PETERS
SOUTHAMPTON DEFENDER
KYLE Walker-Peters’ inclusion in the Championship team of the season is unsurprising given the calibre of club currently pursuing the 27-year-old right-back.
Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United have all been credited with an interest in the former Spurs defender, whose contract at St Mary’s expires in the summer of 2025.
Should Saints fail to win promotion this season it is widely anticipated that Walker-Peters will depart while a reasonable fee can still be commanded, though it is likely to be below market value for a player who embodies the skillset required of a modern-day full-back.
“Kyle is an unbelievably smart footballer with a super football intelligence,” said former Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, shortly before Walker-Peters won the first of his two England caps in 2022.
“He plays left-back, rightback. He can go outside or come inside. He reminds me a little bit of Philipp Lahm I must say, because he is so good on the ball, he always has good decisions. He can run and makes nearly no mistakes.”
Part of the first-team picture at Spurs from the age of 18, Walker-Peters was heavily influenced by his uncle, Phil Walker, a central midfielder for Millwall who later spent seven years in Portugal with Boavista. “My uncle played a big part in terms of sharing his experiences,” he told the Guardian in 2022.
A full debut arrived on the opening day of the 2017-18 campaign and the following season yielded a Champions League appearance against Barcelona, but Walker-Peters managed just 12 Premier League appearances before making a £12m switch to Southampton in 2020. It was a transfer unpopular with many Spurs supporters and one that mystified plenty of pundits, too.
“I remember watching him at Tottenham and thinking ‘They got rid of him and brought in Serge Aurier?’,” said former Arsenal striker Ian Wright.
“After I’d watched Serge for a couple of games I was thinking ‘I’m sorry, Kyle Walker-Peters is a better player’.
Versatility
Part of what has made Walker-Peters so successful at Southampton is his versatility. After Tino Livramento arrived from Chelsea in the summer of 2021, Walker-Peters spent much of the following season playing at leftback.
Though ostensibly out of position, he had actually spent much of his youth career playing on the left and instantly modified his game and positioning to compensate.
This was arguably Southampton’s most productive spell under Hasenhuttl, with Walker-Peters’ passing ability allowing him to operate as a
