Tottenham boss is wrong about untested starlet
Kyle Walker-Peters is close to being Tottenham’s best option
Mauricio Pochettino is doing his best to pour cold water on the idea that Kyle Walker-Peters is ready for first team football. While I understand his desire to keep the starlet grounded, the reality is that Walker-Peters could soon emerge as Pochettino’s first choice at right back.
For the record, Pochettino is right not to want to throw Walker-Peters to the wolves at Newcastle this weekend. Playing an untested starlet in such a difficult environment could shatter his confidence. It’s a great way to ruin a starlet’s career before it truly gets a chance to bloom.
On the other hand, Pochettino’s comments about how Walker-Peters’ youth makes him unprepared are going to a bit too far. He certainly wouldn’t be the youngest player to ascend to prominence under Poch’s reign in North London. The likes of Dele Alli and Harry Winks are great examples of how young stars have managed to work their way into valuable first team roles.
The reality of Spurs’ crisis at right back may also prove Pochettino wrong sooner than anyone would like. Kieran Trippier was already a question mark as the club’s starter and he now faces a great deal of injury uncertainty. If he’s forced to miss lots of action, Tottenham are going to be forced to find two additional right backs to take his place.
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In the short-term, Eric Dier figures to get the chance to fill Trippier’s shoes. He’s a competent defender, but isn’t going to provide the Tottenham attack a ton of pace going forward. His presence in the starting XI will cost the Spurs attack vital width in the final third.
The elephant in the room is the possibility that Spurs could attempt to solve their right back issues in the transfer market. This would be the most prudent solution for the club. Bringing in an established player like Joao Cancelo would be ideal. However, given the club’s hesitancy to jump in the transfer market to date, it’s questionable at best whether or not they’ll be willing to splash the cash on a player of that caliber.
If they don’t, it’s easy to imagine Walker-Peters joining the starting XI sooner rather than later. He certainly isn’t the defender that Dier is, but he’s got loads more skill going forward. Pochettino could easily decide that allowing Walker-Peters to grow up on the job is better for the club in the long-term than playing Dier out of position.
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Tottenham fans don’t want to see Kyle Walker-Peters starting Premier League matches anytime soon, but the crisis at right back may force him into the fire. The truth is he isn’t as far from a Premier League starting XI as Mauricio Pochettino might think or hope.