Tottenham Hotspur still hope to qualify for the Champions League despite Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at Newcastle United.
The benefit of not playing again until April 28th is that Tottenham have time to turn things around after that nightmare in the North East.
The downside is that it will stick in the memory of Tottenham players until facing Arsenal in a huge North London derby.
The Champions League is still a real possibility for Tottenham but there are tough fixtures to come and Ange Postecoglou must come up with answers after a hammering at St James’ Park.
One interesting note hone it comes to Champions League qualification is that Tottenham may need more club-trained players in the squad.
Football London’s breakdown shows that Tottenham have five club-trained senior players following the sales of Harry Kane and Harry Winks last summer.
The five are Brandon Austin, Alfie Whiteman, Oliver Skipp, Troy Parrott and Japhet Tanganga, but how many of those will be at Tottenham next season is anybody’s guess.
There are ways around the situation, such as registering young players who would otherwise be available without taking up a squad spot, but Tottenham may need to factor this situation into the summer transfer plans – and one player stands out as a possible addition.
Southampton boss on Kyle Walker-Peters
Kyle Walker-Peters is the man we are discussing here with the Southampton man counting as a club-trained player at Tottenham.
Walker-Peters came up in the Tottenham ranks but couldn’t nail down a starting role and headed off to Southampton in 2020.
The 27-year-old stayed with the Saints after relegation last year and has chipped in with three goals and two assists this term.
There is still a real chance that Southampton end up back in the Premier League, either through automatic promotion or the play-offs.
Yet if Southampton miss out and stay in the Championship, boss Russell Martin already knows that he will have to sell Walker-Peters.
Speaking to the Daily Echo, Martin has called Walker-Peters ‘brilliant’ but accepts he will need to play Premier League football on way or another next season.
“I think if we get promoted it becomes a lot easier to keep him,” said Martin. “If we don’t, we won’t keep hold of Kyle. There’s no point in pretending otherwise really, financially for the club and Kyle’s ambitions as well. Kyle was great, he didn’t kick up one fuss this summer. There was a bit of interest but not enough to tempt him or the club into him leaving. He dealt with it professionally and really well which is why he’s having such a good season, at no point did he not try and give everything.”
“We have to get promoted to keep a lot of these guys together. That’s the fact. If not, then my job will become different in the summer in terms of how the squad looks and the people we have. No matter how much effort we put in to keep Kyle, which we will, it will come down to finance and Kyle’s ambition as well. The best solution is for us to get promoted to the Premier League altogether and then it becomes less of an issue.”
“He’s just a brilliant, brilliant footballer. Intelligent footballer. Technically really gifted. He’s really brave with the ball, can do a lot of things with it and I think he’s been really important for us,” he added.
READ MORE: Tottenham Hotspur’s 10 most expensive transfer signings of all time including £63m flop
Walker-Peters surely on Tottenham radar
Tottenham will surely have one eye on Walker-Peters and not just because of his status as a club-trained player.
Emerson Royal hasn’t exactly fit into Postecoglou’s style of play when featuring as a right back and Destiny Udogie needs more competition on the left.
A player who could play in both positions would be welcomed and Walker-Peters has played as a right back and a left back during his time at Southampton.
Walker-Peters also has Premier League experience and wouldn’t be taken by surprise by anything seen in the top flight.
The full back maybe isn’t the ideal age profile that Tottenham seem to be focusing on right now, given that he recently turned 27.
Yet in terms of versatility and adding to the European squad quotes, Walker-Peters is surely a name that Tottenham have at least considered as a possible summer signing.
READ MORE: All seven Ange Postecoglou player exits as Tottenham manager and where they are now