‘I had a great relationship with Pochettino’ – Kyle Walker opens up on leaving Tottenham

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Kyle Walker has revealed to BT Sport’s Premier League Storybook why he left the club for Manchester City, and it turns out Raheem Sterling played a big role in the move.

Walker joined Spurs way back in 2010 from Sheffield United, along with fellow full-back Kyle Naughton. It was Walker who went on to have the more successful career though, having established himself as one of the best defenders in Premier League history now.

After a couple of loan spells, at QPR and Aston Villa, Walker made his breakthrough in North London and went on to make 229 appearances for Spurs across all competitions (Transfermarkt).

Walker would leave Spurs in 2017 and join Premier League rivals Manchester City in a deal worth a reported £45 million (ESPN).

All things considered, it was a good move for Walker, who has since gone on to win various honours including four Premier League titles, four league cups, an FA Cup, and two Community Shields (Transfermarkt).

On why he decided to make that switch from Spurs to City, Walker has revealed how he spoke to fellow England teammates at the club and was persuaded to move.

He said: “Obviously being at Tottenham for the amount of years I was at Tottenham, we actually finished above Man City the season before I came to Man City. I spoke to John [Stones] and I spoke to Raheem [Sterling] about Pep’s philosophy and what he was like as a person to work under.

“I had a great relationship with Pochettino and Tottenham were building a great philosophy at the time, but I spoke to John and I spoke to Raz and that set in stone that I wanted to come to work under this manager at this great football club.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Honestly, I can’t even blame Kyle Walker for making the move to Manchester City and it’s all worked out really well for him there. He’s a great player, and is still playing at the very top level, and I just wish he was doing that for Spurs.

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