What should Tottenham do with Kyle Walker-Peters this season?

Kyle Walker-Peters has the talent to emerge as a star for Tottenham, but he needs playing time. It’s unclear whether or not he can get that at Spurs.

The right back position isn’t getting a lot of attention from Tottenham fans at the moment, but it might be the club’s deepest position on the pitch. Kieran Trippier, Serge Aurier and Kyle Walker-Peters could all start for a number of Premier League clubs. Tottenham need to think long and hard about what’s best for Walker-Peters’ development this season.

Watching him in preseason makes it easy to see what club officials like about his game. He’s an absolute live wire. His speed and dribbling ability can cause real problems for opposing defenders. In many ways, he’s the absolute epitome of what Pochettino wants from his fullbacks.

The downside to Walker-Peters is that he lacks experience. That means he is still susceptible to mental errors far too often. Specifically, he seems to get caught ball watching on multiple occasions during each match. That’s an error that can easily be corrected as he grows older, but it’s a significant issue for him currently.

Lesser teams could easily let Walker-Peters learn on the job. Tottenham still have the lofty goal of knocking Manchester City off their perch atop top the Premier League. That could mean they’ll opt for more experienced options ahead of the English youngster.

Trippier’s performance in the World Cup makes him almost impossible to drop. As long as he returns to training with the fitness Pochettino requires, he’ll get plenty of starts this season. That leaves Aurier and Walker-Peters battling for the rest of the playing time.

Judging by the preseason, Aurier is ahead in that battle. It’s why he’s played on the right over Walker-Peters the majority of the time. The former PSG star has mental struggles of his own, but he is the more experienced player of the two. He also has a much more developed body than Walker-Peters. It makes it easier for him to jostle with Premier League attackers.

If Walker-Peters is legitimately the third choice right back on the squad the right thing to do would be to provide him a Premier League loan. His development cannot afford for him to play as little as he did for Spurs last season.

That’s not what Tottenham fans should be expecting though. Instead, look for Pochettino to get creative with his efforts to get Walker-Peters on the pitch. He’s already shown his willingness to play him at left back during the preseason. Don’t be surprised to see him get a start or two there this season when the schedule breaks in his favour.

Pochettino might also consider giving him playing time on the wing. That’s really where he does his best work. If Spurs aren’t successful in their efforts to sign a new attacker before Thursday’s deadline, they might give Walker-Peters some minutes playing up front on the right. That shouldn’t be a permanent switch, but it could help increase his playing time in 2018/19.

The truth is Walker-Peters is simply too talented to keep on the bench. Look for he and Pochettino to find some ways to get him meaningful playing time with the senior squad.