Why Kyle Walker Is the Tottenham Hotspur Player with Most to Prove in Pre-Season
Bad timing has become a recurrent theme in the recent career of Tottenham Hotspur right-back Kyle Walker.
Injuries cost him an all but guaranteed place in England's Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014 squads. Then, after getting fit midway through 2014-15—recovering his place for both club and country—his season was abruptly ended by a foot injury suffered away at Burnley.
There was no major tournament to be missed this time. But it did deny one of the current Tottenham squad's longest-serving players his opportunity to confirm his worth to latest boss Mauricio Pochettino. Now, the addition of new faces means the defender is heading into the upcoming pre-season with plenty to prove.
Walker was already set to face challenges for his right-back spot following the arrival of the green but talented DeAndre Yedlin. Eric Dier's deputising runs in the position last season were decent enough to warrant further examination, while academy product Ryan Fredericks will also be back and looking to impress after spending last season on loan with Middlesbrough.
The level of competition has been further intensified by the signing of Burnley full-back Kieran Trippier.
Unsurprisingly, the recruitment of a Premier League-experienced rival for playing time has already led to speculation about Walker's future. The MailOnline's Joe Bernstein recently reported that the north London club are open to offers for the England international.
Talk of a departure may be a little premature. Yet it is safe to say Walker's status does feel less secure than it did.
The 25-year-old is not the only Spurs player in need of a positive summer. But having been the automatic first-choice right-back since 2011—when fit—the repercussions of possibly losing that prominence feels greater than with others in the team whose situations are arguably more fraught.
There is resignation to the fact strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado are unlikely to enjoy an upturn in form after both listlessly went through the motions in the final months of last season. There is also a feeling that at least a couple of the club's numerous central midfielders—several of whom are accomplished internationals—will have to make way with spaces so limited.
Walker was quickly restored to Pochettino's starting XI when the defender got back to fitness. The Argentinian was happy enough using his inherited right-back that he let Kyle Naughton transfer to Swansea City.
Walker's form was steady enough in reinforcing his previous prominence that Pochettino did not feel it necessary to try out the recently arrived Yedlin—though that was going to be unlikely early on, given Spurs were cautiously integrating him—the raw but impressive presence of Dier or Vlad Chiriches, who covered right-back last season with varying degrees of success.
The Yorkshireman played regularly from late December until getting injured on April 5, which was enough to convince Roy Hodgson he was ready for his England return too. Walker's second-half performance in March's 1-1 friendly draw with Italy was in keeping with his overall mixed form since his return, however.
He did good work tracking Eder, and on another occasion, he acrobatically reacted to prevent Roberto Soriano going through. But he also let Matteo Darmian go past him with ease and was later fortunate a lack of concentration was not severely punished by replacement left-back Luca Antonelli.
Such to and fro within the same game was a feature of his season with Spurs too.
It was not a new discovery that Walker sometimes switches off. You could allow for some rustiness appearing after he had been out for so long. But the not wholly solid displays were concerning enough from a player now among the club's more experienced that you can understand why Pochettino has brought in Trippier.
In fairness to Walker, he agreed he was not quite where he needed to be. "It’s been a difficult road, taken a few games to get back into the swing of things and I know I’m a little way off at the moment," he told Spurs' official website following his England call-up. "I feel I’m getting back to where I want to be."
Had Walker not got injured, perhaps he would have found the form to assuage any of his head coach's concerns. He was certainly far from awful, more inconsistent. But given Pochettino's want for even more from his players, only the most unimpeachable of performers were going to convince him there was no need to look for improvements elsewhere.
It may be that Trippier's arrival, as well as the presence of Yedlin and Dier, is what Walker needs.
Left-back Danny Rose ended up benefiting enormously from the threat of Ben Davies, pushing him up to a previously unseen work rate as he realised he could easily be displaced. "We have to reach those standards and we’re pushing each other every step of the way," Davies said to Spurs' official website in March. "If one gets the nod, the other is right behind him."
Walker has historically been a harder worker than Rose was, but it would be understandable if he has suffered from some complacency in recent years. Since 2011, Naughton was his only real rival, and it quickly became apparent which player managers preferred when they were both available.
Trippier does not match Walker athletically and could do with honing his focus in under-siege situations too. However, he is a confident, brave defender who is not shy in getting forward and will relish playing in a better side than the recently relegated Clarets.
Yedlin performed decently in Spurs' post-season tour of Malaysia and Australia. While accounting for the limited opposition, the biggest takeaway may have been the reinforcement that his eye-watering pace is better utilised further forward. Though his steady work marshaling his flank, albeit he was a little less sure when dragged inside, should ensure Pochettino does not yet discount him staking a claim for right-back.
With Dier an option too, Walker cannot afford anything less than a fully committed pre-season. From the first day back right through to the opening game of the season against Manchester United, he needs to show Pochettino he is someone he can rely on.
Walker is in a position where his work in seasons past should give him the edge over his new team-mates. But that privilege will soon erode if he does not earn the right to retain it.
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