Southampton are reportedly set to sign Tottenham defender Kyle Walker-Peters on loan until the end of the season.
According to The Daily Mail, Southampton are poised to land the defender on loan and are attempting to secure a £12m option to sign him permanently in the summer.
Will Walker-Peters be a good signing for the Saints? Judging by former Tottenham and Saints manager Mauricio Pochettino’s comments, he may well be.
Back when he was in charge of Spurs, Pochettino heaped praise on the young fullback and claimed that he has “amazing quality”.
Speaking to Football365, Pochettino said this:
I told you after the match in Barcelona that we really believe in him and he has amazing quality and only needs time to mature and show his quality.
I’m so pleased, so happy because I think his quality is going to help the team this season and for the future he’s going to be a very important player for Tottenham.
Pochettino handed Walker-Peters six Premier League appearances last season and started him in the first three matches of the current campaign – before, of course, being replaced by Jose Mourinho a few months later. He had a knack for spotting and nurturing young talent, with the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli among those he managed to coach into England international calibre players.
The Argentine boss clearly spotted something in Walker-Peters and was willing to give him opportunities, but Mourinho has not been as open to the idea. Mourinho has opted to go with the experience of Serge Aurier at right-back, rather than risk Walker-Peters’ inexperience cost the team at times.
However, Southampton do not have the same level of expectation as Spurs and can afford to risk it and let Walker-Peters develop whilst in the starting XI. If he is able to be as good as Pochettino believes he can be, Walker-Peters could end up being an incredible signing for the Saints.
