Kyle Walker-Peters is probably within his right to question if he has a future at Tottenham next season after Mauricio Pochettino embarrassed the defender by playing Juan Foyth in a makeshift role in a much-changed starting XI on Saturday.
Tottenham suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham and started the game with Foyth at right-back, Danny Rose and Christian Eriksen at centre-mid and Lucas Moura alongside Son Heung-min in attack – an accident waiting to happen.
Walker-Peters was named on the bench with Kieran Tripper – both of whom failed to come on despite Foyth underperforming. It’s worth noting that Walker-Peters signed a five-year deal five months ago and has made just seven appearances in all competitions since.
As the 22-year-old has fallen behind Serge Aurier, Trippier and now Foyth in the pecking order, Walker-Peters might be considering his future this summer. Pochettino backed him in the Champions League against Barcelona in December but now prefers a backup centre-back in his role.
The England u21 international has made a total of nine appearances this season, racking up 615 minutes of playing time. What Pochettino has planned for Walker-Peters remains to be seen, but the young defender is within his right to be angry with his manager for the recent omission.
Crippy Cooke’s previous article
‘Awful’, ‘Poor’, ‘Embarrassing’ – some fans lambaste Tottenham midfielder after West Ham loss