Tottenham defender Kyle Walker-Peters has opened up on the difficulty he faced while trying to break into the first team in North London.
Walker-Peters, who graduated through the club’s academy set-up was handed a number of opportunities in the first team over the last couple of seasons but failed to get a consistent run in the side.
The 22-year-old started the first three Premier League matches of the season but struggled to feature since picking up a hamstring injury in the home defeat to Newcastle.
Following the arrival of Jose Mourinho in late Novemver, it came as little surprise when he did join Southampton on loan for the rest of the season.
The coronavirus shutdown has unfortunately meant that the young defender might have to wait a little longer for a taste of regular Premier League football.
The Spurs loanee has now opened up on the frustration of putting in a Man of the Match display in the opening game of the 2017/18 season at Newcastle, only to subsequently be dropped by Mauricio Pochettino and not feature again for several months.
Speaking to Southampton’s official website about his situation at Spurs, Walker-Peters said: “If you get man of the match, you expect to start the next game, which was against Chelsea.
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“I guess you can say that’s a lot to ask of a young player, but at the time I was really disappointed not to start.
“I never understood why I didn’t play much after I got man of the match, but the manager has to make decisions and what he thinks is best.
“I just always made sure in training I worked hard and really tried to improve for myself because ultimately when that opportunity does come, as it did at the end of the season, I had to show I’d improved and I was capable to play. I think I did that.”
Spurs Web Opinion
On the few occasions that Walker-Peters has featured for the first-team, there have certainly been questioning marks around his defending. He seems like someone who can be bullied off the ball pretty easily and he doesn’t offer too much penetration going forward either as he often opts to take the simple solution. I don’t believe Walker-Peters has a future at Spurs and expect him to be sold permanently this summer.
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