Kyle Walker

[El Guepardo]

would you say this if it were alli or kane?

personally i would like him to stay, we should do what we can to keep this core together

If they were desperate to get out, and didn't want to play for the club, then yes, I would. Why keep players who don't want to play for the team? They are unlikely to be as committed to the cause, may cause squad unrest and their value will deteriorate.

I would hope that Pochettino and his team would chat with the player in question, to see whether any concerns could be diffused to the point that the player wishes to stay.

Otherwise, good luck to the player but also, goodbye. There are plenty of players who would love to play for the club. Why keep someone who would rather be elsewhere?

 

[braineclipse]

I think some of you are underestimating him. I've defended Trippier in the past and I do rate him, but for me Walker is different class. Particularly defensively he's one of the best around and he's developed his attacking play to where it's at a very high level too. Even though Trippier has a better delivery and overall is better on the ball Walker makes at least as much of an attacking impact because of his pace, energy and strength.

Looking at some of the top clubs in England and Europe and the right back spot. Several clubs have struggled to sign good enough right backs or have ended up having to develop players initially thought not good enough to fill that spot. Top class right backs are rare, and I think Walker has developed into a player that fits that description.

It would be a real shame to lose Walker (or any regular starter) at this point. Not a disaster, but a real shame. Will keep my fingers crossed that this is just contract/wage/agent flimflam or something that blows over. If he does end up leaving I will trust Pochettino and Levy to have done what's best for the club.

 

[greatwhitenorf]

Well stated, BE. Ideally, we retain all our first team assets and build from that.

Regardless of how this situation plays out, it's clear that Spurs are very much in control of Walker's destiny - whether he stays or goes, where he goes and when. And Walker's bargaining leverage has just been compromised with Trippier's very solid play amply demonstrating that the squad can win crucial games without Walker. And win well.

So often in the past, the club has had its hand forced over player transfers, with little or no say over where a player goes (Berbatov, Carrick, Keane). Not this time. Walker is locked up long term. If Spurs reject the idea of re-inforcing a potential rival and feel the only option for Walker to leave is to also leave the PL, then tuff titties if he doesn't like it. The club's rude financial health means nothing compels Spurs to sell anyone.

He's a good player and could be the answer for a number of clubs looking to add a right wingback of this calibre and experience as the three-at-the-back formation becomes ever more popular. But Spurs won't be dictated to in regards to this potential transfer. Not by the player and agent nor by other clubs.

 

[NaijaSpurs]

He's not integral in my opinion.. I'd class Alli and Kane as indispensible. I'd add Eriksen, Alderweireld and Lloris to that list, possibly Rose.

The issue is not whether or not he is indispensable, but rather that he is the best right back in the league and if ends up at City for £50m then it weakens us and at the same time strengthens them in one of their weakest positions.

 

[nayenezgani]

The issue is not whether or not he is indispensable, but rather that he is the best right back in the league and if ends up at City for £50m then it weakens us and at the same time strengthens them in one of their weakest positions.

Mm. A fair point.. I'd guess I'd hope that if Walker were to be sold, Levy would be true to form and refuse to let him go to a direct rival.

If you ignore where the papers are linking him, why do you think Levy would change tact for this particular bit of business?

 

[Reece]

The issue is not whether or not he is indispensable, but rather that he is the best right back in the league and if ends up at City for £50m then it weakens us and at the same time strengthens them in one of their weakest positions.

tickle my balls with a feather! A coach that has managed top players, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Puyol etc... deems him to be a major player and target should tell you everything. Some think he's dispensable and can be upgraded on, not sure about that, think he's very underrated and a key player personally. Also as a great character around the team.

I would also worry about the knock on effect it might have on some other players like Danny Rose, another northern boy who might start to have thoughts about moving back north for much more money!

 

[Spursman]

I've said this in the Toby thread, It would be a shame and rather foolish if we lost players because of money. If you offer more than generous wages i.e. parity with players of a similar level of importance in the squad and in roughly a similar wage bracket to his peers in the league and the player still wants to move then you cannot fault the club.

The increased revenue from the tv deal alone should mean we have more money to throw at players. I realise we have a strict wage structure and we have heightened the ceiling to an extent (Kane now reportedly earns £100k a week) but the goalposts have moved. £100k a week was a huge sum of money in terms of wages 10-15 years ago but things change. I'm sure you could have probably got a pint of beer for £2.00 in some places 20 years ago but it can't stay £2.00 forever.

If you're a player and you a rated as one of the best players in your position in the league then i dont blame him for asking for more money (if thats what it is) They already earn more than enough but when you are used to earning big money it becomes the norm. Even if i was earning over 100k a year which i believe is just over 5k a month after tax, i would still want more. Maybe that's just me but players know by mid 30s their wages will be nowhere near their prime.

Having said that players also have to look at where the club is going. Any player would be excited to be moving into a new stadium, team spirit looks fantastic and they are playing for one of the best young managers. We have also challenged for the league for the last two seasons and they have CL to look forward to again.

Im sure he doesnt want to leave beaucse of money but the club needs to pay the going rate. we want to be seen as a big club now so back that up. No excuses now with Wembley and new stadium a year after

 

[braineclipse]

If you're a player and you a rated as one of the best players in your position in the league then i dont blame him for asking for more money (if thats what it is) They already earn more than enough but when you are used to earning big money it becomes the norm. Even if i was earning over 100k a year which i believe is just over 5k a month after tax, i would still want more. Maybe that's just me but players know by mid 30s their wages will be nowhere near their prime.

Having said that players also have to look at where the club is going. Any player would be excited to be moving into a new stadium, team spirit looks fantastic and they are playing for one of the best young managers. We have also challenged for the league for the last two seasons and they have CL to look forward to again.

Im sure he doesnt want to leave beaucse of money but the club needs to pay the going rate. we want to be seen as a big club now so back that up. No excuses now with Wembley and new stadium a year after

What would be the total cost of paying our entire squad "the going rate" if we're comparing ourselves to the richest clubs around?

 

[spurspinter1]

As a few have said, if young Kyle did leave for serious mula and went out of country, I wouldn't be devastated. He's a quality player, but hypothetically if he went Barca for 60m as he wanted to try a new culture league life etc etc then in horrendously over simplified terms we could throw 20m at stadium and general costs, 20m towards a new striker and 20m to pay the bulk of tielemans fee to come in and be Dembele's understudy. Not that it matters from our perspective but Walker could do some pretty incredible things for that team

I have no doubt in Trippier's quality and Kyle Walker Peters is highly rated also.

 

[milo]

Also as a great character around the team.

Maybe not so much if he is kicking off in the last month of the season when we are still in the hunt for the title.

 

[NaijaSpurs]

If you ignore where the papers are linking him, why do you think Levy would change tact for this particular bit of business?

I am not saying Levy would change tact, and just think it is something to consider. I was just wondering what Levy would do if Madrid came in with an offer for £25m-30m, do you sell him to Madrid or sell him to City for £50m?

 

[Glenda's Legs]

If you're a player and you a rated as one of the best players in your position in the league then i dont blame him for asking for more money (if thats what it is) They already earn more than enough but when you are used to earning big money it becomes the norm. Even if i was earning over 100k a year which i believe is just over 5k a month after tax, i would still want more. Maybe that's just me but players know by mid 30s their wages will be nowhere near their prime.

Having said that players also have to look at where the club is going. Any player would be excited to be moving into a new stadium, team spirit looks fantastic and they are playing for one of the best young managers. We have also challenged for the league for the last two seasons and they have CL to look forward to again.

Im sure he doesnt want to leave beaucse of money but the club needs to pay the going rate. we want to be seen as a big club now so back that up. No excuses now with Wembley and new stadium a year after

The few things that I have read seem to imply that him wanting to leave stems from is a disagreement with Poch over fitness and ability to play two games in a week (leading to being dropped for key games like the FA Cup SF). Obviously if he does leave, then he would be able to earn far more money elsewhere, but taking the rumours at face value, money does not appear to be the main driver in Walker's case.
Dan Kilpatrick on the Tottenham Way podcast was speculating about this - e.g the fact that because Poch judges that Walker cannot play twice week he is not getting a shot at any European football and he sees that he is being held back.

At the end of day, who knows what is really going on.

Poch said a while ago that the fans would have to trust whatever decisions the club makes over transfers to be in the best interests of the club. It seemed a bit of an unnecessary thing to say at the time but with all the Walker rumours going around now, it makes more sense that a potentially unpopular sale might be on the cards.
I hope Walker and Poch do manage to sort out whatever issues/disagreements there might be during the close season. He's an excellent player and it would be a big loss if he were to leave. But not an insurmountable one.

 

[nayenezgani]

I am not saying Levy would change tact, and just think it is something to consider. I was just wondering what Levy would do if Madrid came in with an offer for £25m-30m, do you sell him to Madrid or sell him to City for £50m?

Levy would sell him to Barcelona, PSG or Munich for £60

But I guess if I were to indulge your hypothetical and they were the only two offers, you'd have to take the cash, sell him to City and attempt to invest in a superior alternative.

I don't think Walker is the best RB on the planet.

 

[braineclipse]

I think the example set by Dortmund and Atletico Madrid on how to deal with losing important first team players is a good one to follow.

Levy would sell him to Barcelona, PSG or Munich for £60

But I guess if I were to indulge your hypothetical and they were the only two offers, you'd have to take the cash, sell him to City and attempt to invest in a superior alternative.

I don't think Walker is the best RB on the planet.

This to me will most of the time be a very difficult to actually achieve and not the way to go about things.

Assuming the clubs that would be willing to pay £30-50m for Walker aren't completely inept in the transfer market he's about as good a right back that money can buy you in this market. I think the likelihood of us going out and improving the right back position immediately after selling Walker is very small. The likelihood of failure is considerable and if we try to blow a lot of money on a replacement that's a potentially expensive failure.

As a few have said, if young Kyle did leave for serious mula and went out of country, I wouldn't be devastated. He's a quality player, but hypothetically if he went Barca for 60m as he wanted to try a new culture league life etc etc then in horrendously over simplified terms we could throw 20m at stadium and general costs, 20m towards a new striker and 20m to pay the bulk of tielemans fee to come in and be Dembele's understudy. Not that it matters from our perspective but Walker could do some pretty incredible things for that team

I have no doubt in Trippier's quality and Kyle Walker Peters is highly rated also.

This for me is a more sensible approach. Though not sure about the "£20m at the stadium" bit. If we're forced to sell Walker this summer our aim is of course still to get better next season. But we try to get better primarily by other players than Walker improving along their expected development. The signings made over the last 2-3 years continuing to get better and growing in experience is the "replacement for Walker". Not in the same position, but in terms of the quality they bring to the team improving the team overall.

If we should sign someone to come in as a starter ahead of Trippier. Or if we should rather sign a younger player to be a backup/challenger to Trippier. Or if we should trust Walker-Peters to develop is a difficult question. One I trust Pochettino to make in a good way. But we must be aware that the risk of failure in the transfer market is always significant.

One of our key strengths is player development. We already have a very good team and one that can be expected to challenge for our targets even if we lose Walker. The risk of failure with a high profile signing hoping to make an immediate impact is always significant. Getting the best possible talents into our player development work and getting better season by season by our young squad growing in experience and developing is the way to best move forward.

There might be an exception to this. If somehow our scouts and transfer committee identified the perfect immediate replacement for Walker (or any player we end up losing) we should have course go for it. But that to me is likely to be the exception to the rule. The rule should be that if we lose a key starting player to a transfer we should expect to get weaker in that position in the short term. But our player development overall and good long term work in the transfer market over time should still allow us a decent possibility to at least maintain our overall level or improve on it.

 

[NaijaSpurs]

I don't think Walker is the best RB on the planet.

We do not have the financial clout to buy the best right back on the planet anyway.

 

[NaijaSpurs]

By the way how good is Kyle Walker-Peters?

 

[Jurgen the German]

I am just disappointing that Walker (or his agent) did not have the decency to wait until the summer to let this story come out. If there was no element of truth I think player or agent would have made some public pronouncement by now.

Anybody who still thinks this is some baseless rumour without foundation has to be very naive.

This sadly. Think we've all watched football long enough to read between the lines. Walker could easily dispel all the rumours with one tweet.

 

[imcallingbullsh*t]

This sadly. Think we've all watched football long enough to read between the lines. Walker could easily dispel all the rumours with one tweet.

I actually think Poch has told the lot of them, Toby, Levy etc.. No contract talks until end of season. Ignore the rumours dont get involved.

I do think that Walker isnt happy, however tonight will tell us how bad the issue is. Walker certainly isnt a bad apple.
If Poch wants to keep him, he plays tonight and then again v Utd where we go to a 3 at the back with Rose back.

He is a level above trippier

 

[Gutter Boy]

Levy would sell him to Barcelona, PSG or Munich for £60

But I guess if I were to indulge your hypothetical and they were the only two offers, you'd have to take the cash, sell him to City and attempt to invest in a superior alternative.

I don't think Walker is the best RB on the planet.

Only Lahm and Alves are as good, but they are both well into their 30s now

 

[Lemonade Money]

What if the money from Walker is enough to pay all our other stars the going rate so that we don't lose them too?