Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has rubbished suggestions that highly rated fullback Kyle Walker-Peters will be leaving the club in the January window on a loan spell.
The 21-year-old Academy graduate made his third appearance of the 2018/19 campaign when he took to the pitch in last midweek’s Champions League encounter with Barcelona over at the Nou Camp, building on his first Premier League showing of the season against Leicester City the previous weekend. It took his career appearance levels to seven starts and five substitute showings.
Given his lack of game time plenty have wondered whether we should get him out for his first loan spell and get him a good run of minutes in the Championship, if not League One to bring him on further, but Poch is flatly against that, describing him as one of his ‘best options’ as cover for the first team.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Saturday’s clash with Burnley at Wembley Stadium, the gaffer explained.
“Now, no. Now, for me, he’s one of the best options. Like always, who deserves it more is going to play – you know me. I’m so happy with his performance. Look what happened against PSV with Toby Alderweireld, or Juan Foyth on another day, or the same with Kieran Trippier in the game against City or Barcelona. The same with Hugo Lloris. All the players can struggle sometimes in some actions but the most important thing is to see the big picture, and he was very good.”
With KWP coming off in the 61st minute of the game and with some fans criticising his performance, Poch restated that the substitution was about protecting him and the team given he was on a yellow card, and nothing more than that.
“I wanted to protect him in the second half because he had a yellow card but I’m so happy and so proud of how he managed the pressure. I’m very pleased and I talk very highly of him.”