Amidst reports linking him with a return to Tottenham, Kyle Walker-Peters has admitted that the decision he took to leave his boyhood club was not an easy one.
Walker-Peters joined the Spurs academy aged just 14 back in 2013 and made his way through the age group ranks at the club before being handed his senior debut by Mauricio Pochettino.
The 25-year-old found opportunities hard to come by after the Argentine was replaced by Jose Mourinho and made the permanent switch to St Mary’s in the summer of 2020 following a six-month loan spell on the South Coast.
The right-back has gone from strength to strength since his move to the Saints and is quickly gaining a reputation as being one of the best players in his position across the Premier League.
Both talkSPORT and 90 min reported during the January transfer window that Tottenham explored the possibility of bringing Walker-Peters back to the club before they eventually decided to sign Pedro Porro.
Speaking about his time at Tottenham, the England international has now told Southampton’s matchday programme (via Hampshire Live): “Pochettino, the manager at the time, had his plan for me and ultimately I think his plan was a success.
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“He always said that one day I would play for Tottenham regularly and he often gave me the opportunity to play.
“With Mourinho coming in, I knew what he wanted. We had various conversations, which was the great thing about Mourinho – he was extremely honest.
“He never forced me out of the club. He never said ‘I don’t want you’, he just gave me a decision.
“He explained to me what my role would be, and I felt like at 22 I needed to be playing regularly, so I made the decision to come here and I’m glad I made it.”
Walker-Peters said that the decision to leave N17 was not easy for him but admitted that he needed to make it in order to prove himself at the highest level.
He added: “I look back on it fondly, without Tottenham, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
“It was really difficult (leaving Spurs). Tottenham was my home, I was comfortable there, but I thought to myself ‘sometimes you need to come out of your comfort zone.
“If I really want to show everyone how good I am, I need to be playing regularly. If I want to play for England, I need to be playing regularly.
“It was either be comfortable, or show the world how good I am. That’s what I wanted to do.”
Spurs Web Opinion
With Pedro Porro and Djed Spence now in Tottenham’s ranks, our right-back situation looks sorted for many years to come.
So, I do not see the North London club trying to bring Walker-Peters back to the club anytime soon, irrespective of who our next head coach turns out to be.
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