West Bromwich Albion need to get a new right-back through The Hawthorns door, and the Tottenham Hotspur prospect would be perfect.
Tottenham youngster Kyle Walker-Peters is arguably already performing well enough to play regularly in the Premier League. He may only have a handful of appearances for Spurs’ first-team under his belt, but the young right-back clearly has a huge amount of potential.
In fact, many Tottenham fans went into this season urging Mauricio Pochettino to make the 21-year-old Kieran Trippier’s main understudy this term with Serge Aurier enduring a mixed first campaign with the club.
However, based on Pochettino’s team selection at Newcastle at the weekend, it appears that Aurier will remain ahead of the academy graduate in the pecking order. While the Ivory Coast international may not have enjoyed the best day at St James’ Park, he did provide the assist for the winning goal in the 2-1 victory, so perhaps he will remain above Walker-Peters in the pecking order.
If that is the case, then Walker-Peters would be forgiven for wanting a loan move from Spurs – and that should tempt West Brom to try their luck and make a move for the prospect given the start that they have made to the campaign.
The Baggies have four points from their opening three games. There have been some glimpses of real quality, but the defence remains a concern with six goals being conceded already. Much of the criticism has headed in Allan Nyom’s direction, and the 4-3 win against Norwich City highlighted that not signing a new right-back before the loan window deadline would be a mistake.
Walker-Peters would be a sensational signing for the Baggies. However, it would probably be a surprise if Tottenham were prepared to let him go given that they did not bring in any signings and have four competitions to contend with once again. Nevertheless, West Brom should certainly ask about his availability.
There is perhaps a chance that Pochettino will decide that Walker-Peters would be better off playing regularly elsewhere. And given that he cannot now join a Premier League rival, sending him into the second tier with a club of West Brom’s stature may not be a terrible idea.
Pochettino’s team selection at the weekend hinted that Walker-Peters may struggle for game-time this year. And in the hope that that may be the case, West Brom should make an enquiry. Getting the youngster in would see the Baggies turn one of their current weaknesses into one of their main strengths.
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