Former Tottenham star rejects N17 return in favour of moving to London rival; Spurs could look elsewhere

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Jainil Shah | Last updated Jul 19, 2025 10:04 AM ET

Kyle Walker-Peters is heading back to London this off season but he will not be going to the part of the city that the North Londoners supporters would have hoped…

Tottenham Hotspur had been linked with a move for Hotspur Way academy graduate Kyle Walker-Peters for a possible return to N17 this summer window, but he has reportedly agreed to join West Ham United on a three-year deal with transfer guru Fabrizio Romano dropping the “here we go” on Friday morning via X.

A probable return to Spurs had been among rumours during the summer window, but now the Lilywhites chose not to act on the rumours, with the player opting to move to a place where he will get consistent minutes instead.

Walker-Peters goes from academy to rival

The 27-year-old graduated through the academy at Hotspur Way, making his first team debut for Tottenham in the 2017/18 season when Mauricio Pochettino was in charge of the proceedings at North London. But despite some promise, he never really nailed down a regular starting spot for the Lilywhites, and he was moved to Southampton permanently in 2020.

And he has developed into a better full back since given how he got comfortable on playing on both the flank whilst showing that composure with the ball and now it’s not a surprise that multiple Premier League clubs expressed interest in his signatures given his contract with the Saints ran out this summer.

Tottenham decided not to move for Walker-Peters

And while a lot of Tottenham supporters wanted him to be back given how he is a Lilywhite through and through, at the moment Spurs already have Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, and Destiny Udogie in the fullback role, so he didn’t have any chance of taking up a role that gets him consistent minutes under his belt.

Tottenham could still revisit the fullback market

While Tottenham have a good squad on paper, there is still a need to do something about the depth in the fullback role, especially given how Udogie has been struggling with fitness problems for a while now and Spence is still unproven when you put him in a consistent role.

This is where KWP to Tottenham made sense, given that he would be a low-cost option and knows the club in and out. But Tottenham will have to dip into the market about this and ensure that there is a sense of depth in the full-back roles, especially with European fixtures back on the calendar.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

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