‘Didn’t force me to leave’: £12m man says it was absolutely his decision to leave Tottenham

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Speaking to Optus Sport, Kyle Walker-Peters has been speaking about his departure from Tottenham Hotspur under Jose Mourinho.

The full-back was sent out on loan to Southampton in January 2020, and in the summer that move was made permanent in a £12m deal.

Walker-Peters has spoken about how that move came about, claiming that it was absolutely his decision to leave north London at that time.

What’s Walker-Peters said?

Walker-Peters discussed the final conversation he had with Mourinho before leaving.

“I spoke to Mourinho before coming here, he didn’t force me to leave, he didn’t say that he didn’t want me. He left it up to me and he was really honest with me. We had a really good conversation and I felt it was time for me to leave my comfort zone and show everyone that I can play back to back games and be a regular starter in a Premier League team,” Walker-Peters said.

Right decision

It looks as though leaving Spurs was the right decision on a personal level for Walker-Peters.

The full-back is now playing regular Premier League football for Southampton, while Spurs still can’t settle on a right-back with Japhet Tanganga, Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty all battling for that spot, while Serge Aurier was also in the mix last season.

This was the right decision for Walker-Peters’ career and while he could have stayed at Spurs, he probably doesn’t have any regrets about joining the Saints.