TTLB Opinion: Does It make sense for Tottenham to sign Kyle Walker-Peters?

The Hotspur Way academy graduate is possibly one of the more tactically mobile full-backs available in England at the moment, given that he has featured in multiple roles over his years at Southampton; Walker-Peters has featured as a right back in a flat back four, as a left wing back in a 3-5-2, as an inverted RCB in transitional presses, and also on the left full-back flank in more of a ball-progressor role.

And Ange does tend to ask a lot from his full-backs…

At times he’d want them to invert into the midfield to make a 2-3-5 in build-up phases, while in others he’d ask them to overlap. The full-backs at N17 tend to defend out wide in 1v1s with not as much cover as you see with other teams in the English top tier. The Australian also expects his full-backs to recover diagonals when his side ends up losing the ball in high zones. And Walker-Peters has shown that he has the capacity to execute all of these.

See, the thing is that he developed the ability to retire in an inverted midfield role under Hasenhüttl and the pressure of the system that he deployed at Southampton, and then he went on to refine that under Russell Martin, who liked to use spaces and channels in possession.

Now those experiences have made him a press-resistant full-back who is sharp in possession and is defensively quite alert.

Let me get one thing straight: KWP is not as explosive as Porro, but he is positionally a lot more reliable, and that counts in games where Ange is looking to bring control over chaos.

So where can the North Londoners play Walker-Peters?

See if Tottenham are to lose Pedro Porro; then he can compete (more like rotate, if you ask me) with Djed Spence for that right back role, given that you can start him as a low-risk and high-discipline fullback in a back four when the opponents are pressing. He covers both the flanks, and Ange adds that versatile depth given how he is equally versatile on both sides.

He can also play in an inverted right-back role if required.

For the Lilywhites, having someone in the fullback role who has the capacity to bridge possession and cover without needing to be the main creator gives Ange the luxury to tactically revamp his structures without using his subs or altering formation.