Is Kyle Walker on the way out of Tottenham?
Regardless of how the season ends for Tottenham, it has been a magical one. The club has a record points total and will run the title race down to the wire. But it isn’t all smiles and roses at White Hart Lane. The situation that I’m referring to is the transfer speculation around Kyle Walker.
This year, Walker has established himself as the best right back in England with his performances for Spurs. On the season, he has registered five assists while playing at both right back and right wing-back. But it has been Walker improving his defensive positioning and the fact that he has stayed healthy that has the rumor mill kicking into high gear.
The potential has always been there for Walker, who won the PFA Young Player of the Year award for Tottenham in 2012, but injuries have always ruined his chances to get going. After being healthy for the second season in a row, Walker is beginning to blossom into the star that was expected as he enters his prime.
But with a great ascent comes attention from large clubs. Both the Manchester sides and Barcelona have been linked to Walker for a while and even in the case of Barcelona, the links seem feasible. Rumors like that are sure to turn a player’s head and if they come to fruition, Walker could be on the way out of Tottenham.
That isn’t where things get tricky in this situation though. Mauricio Pochettino seems to be preferring Kieran Trippier in big games as opposed to Walker. While Pochettino is known for using a heavy fullback rotation, sitting Walker for the FA Cup Semi and the North London Derby seems odd. It seems odder when you take into consideration that Trippier only has nine Premier League appearances as a whole this season. In the FA Cup, even Son Heung-Min saw the starting lineup before a healthy Walker.
After the North London Derby, details about Walker’s situation have began to emerge and they don’t speak well to the right back's future at Tottenham. There are reports of a “row” between Walker and Pochettino after Walker was dropped and while they’re not well sourced, all things considered, they could be legitimate.
Walker has reportedly held talks with Pochettino about upping his current £55,000-a-week contract but with four years left on the deal, that’s tough to do with Tottenham’s current wage structure. While we don’t know exactly how Walker may have reacted to these meetings, as a top player, he likely wasn’t happy. Depending on how he expressed his unhappiness, Pochettino could have easily benched Walker to teach him a lesson.
Pochettino has ruled with an iron fist since taking over at Tottenham but this could be his biggest case of public discipline since the Kaboul Cabal. For those who need a refresher, Younès Kaboul, Etienne Capoue, Aaron Lennon, Paulinho, and Emmanuel Adebayor weren’t happy with how things are run at Pochettino’s Tottenham. They publicly expressed their displeasure and Pochettino squashed it. He sold everyone who had a transfer value and demoted Ade to training with the U-23 team.
Pochettino isn’t they type of guy to allow one disgruntled player ruin his fine tuned system so of these rumors concerning Walker are even half true, he could be moved in the summer. Considering that he’d likely fetch a fee between £35–50 million, Walker may be moved regardless in the summer.
That kind of money would allow Tottenham to make the necessary moves to improve squad depth with entertaining offers for key squad members like Delle Alli which overall would be a net win for the club. Tottenham’s days as a selling club are in the past but if someone offers money like what’s in play for Walker, any club would think twice.
