Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Even before the 2016/17 season had ended Tottenham Hotspur’s right back Kyle Walker was being linked with a move away from North London with clubs both home and abroad looking to acquire the services of the former Sheffield United defender.
With Kieran Trippier then being selected ahead of Walker in key games such as the F.A. Cup Semi Final towards the end of the campaign it put more fuel in the engine which is known as the transfer rumour mill and it seems as if it has gone through the gears once again.
That because it is reported that initial talks between Tottenham and Manchester City have began with a view to signing the England international. It must be stressed that there is nothing concrete in place at present but after much conjecture it seems we are certainly a step closer to the departure of Kyle Walker from Spurs.
Tottenham are obviously not going to want to lose any of their star names across the course of the summer but in my opinion if you had to lose one then it would be Walker. That is in no way a detriment to his talents but it is more due to the fact that there is such an able understudy lying in wait.
Then again the term understudy is probably a bit unfair on Kieran Trippier who has lept ahead of Walker in the pecking order for both club and country, when you add the fact that the former Burnley player is set to sign a new 5 year deal and it looks as if Tottenham are already planning ahead.
That ultimately means that although the club are not pushing Walker out of what I guess is now the Wembley exit door they seem content in seeing him move on, while also not forgetting that the likelihood is that any transfer fee is going to be around £40m or so.
With Walker in the middle of a long term contract Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is certainly not going to let him leave on the cheap, firstly for that predominant reason and also quite simply he is someone who is well known for driving a very hard bargain.
Should that be the case then Walker’s former club Sheffield United will be in for a big windfall after inserting a 10% sell on fee in the deal that saw him swap clubs back in 2009. So The Blades could be looking at receiving somewhere near £4m, that will be a welcome boost for their EFL Championship bid next season.
More importantly it would be a very decent return on the £3m that they spent eight years ago in which to acquire his services, money that can be easily used to reinvest in the team and by what would then be backup for Trippier at right back.
If you were to play fantasy football for a moment then you could perhaps advocate the signing of Dani Alves on a free transfer, someone who has been there and done it all and would undoubtedly add experience to these young Tottenham ranks.
As good as it sounds I can see two potential issues, would he want to come to North London and be an understudy to the ever emerging talents of Trippier and can they compete with Manchester City in regards to wages. The answer to those are most probably no and no.
Tottenham will be better suited looking at another young talented player to join the ranks and offer not just a backup but competition also. But in regards to Walker it has been a very impressive stint at the club but one that is now sure to come to an end.
