Tottenham Hotspur allowed Kyle Walker-Peters to leave in 2020, and the right back is now shining on the South Coast with Southampton.
Tottenham had high hopes for Walker-Peters as he rose through the ranks, but he was never able to nail down a first-team role.
Come January 2020, Walker-Peters was sent on loan to Southampton.
Tottenham then chased a deal for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, landing the Dane with Walker-Peters heading the other way.
Walker-Peters continues to impress for Southampton, and he enjoyed a big moment on Saturday night.
Walker-Peters scored a superb goal to open the scoring against Manchester City, curling the ball past Ederson with the outside of his right foot.
Southampton couldn’t hang on for the win as Aymeric Laporte bagged an equaliser, but Walker-Peters showed real promise.
The 24-year-old is now earning praise from BBC pundit Garth Crooks, who named Walker-Peters in his team of the week.
Crooks suggested that Walker-Peters has ‘found his wings’ and ‘grown immeasurably’ since leaving Tottenham.
Crooks even compared Walker-Peters to Ryan Bertrand, believing he is now growing into a quality Premier League defender.
“There were a number of notable displays for Southampton against a slightly unconvincing Manchester City that were worthy of a mention. Kyle Walker-Peters was certainly one of them,” said Crooks. “The former Tottenham full-back seems to have found his wings at St Mary’s.”
“Walker-Peters struggled to get regular game time at Spurs but since his move to the south coast the defender has grown immeasurably. The Saints are pretty good at developing talented defenders who arrive with a reputation but little experience.”
“Former Chelsea defender Ryan Bertrand was another player who only became established when he moved to Southampton on a permanent basis. Walker-Peters looks like he’s being groomed in the same mould,” he added.
Walker-Peters is developing at Southampton just as Tottenham endure problems at right wing back.
Summer signing Emerson Royal hasn’t impressed yet and Matt Doherty looks set to leave the club in the near future.
Adama Traore could come in, but Tottenham keep chopping and changing at right back, failing to truly replace Kyle Walker after his 2017 exit.
There’s an alternate timeline where Walker-Peters has that position locked down – but instead, Southampton are benefiting from his progress.
It seems unlikely that Tottenham will look to re-sign Walker-Peters in the future, but you can never say never.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
