Sky Sports pundit and former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson has claimed that Antonio Conte ‘would love’ to bring Kyle Walker-Peters back to Tottenham after buy-back details emerged.
The Lowdown: £30m clause
The defender left the Lilywhites to join Southampton on a permanent basis back in 2020, where he has excelled during his two-year spell, averaging 1.8 tackles per game last season and providing three direct goal contributions, per Whoscored.
The Athletic reported over the weekend that Spurs included a £30m buy-back clause as part of the deal, with the article claiming that the 25-year-old has made no progress in negotiations to remain on the south coast, with a summer exit likely to be on the cards after interest from fellow Premier League sides Manchester United and Arsenal.
The Latest: Robinson’s comments
Reacting to that revelation in a chat with Football Insider, Robinson compared Walker-Peters’ progress to that of Kyle Walker, who also left Tottenham to shine at his new club. He said:
“He’s really improved.
“He left Spurs in a similar way and a similar time to Kyle Walker – and they’ve really kicked on now and gone to new heights.
“You’d have to say that Walker-Peters is a player that Conte would love to have back in his ranks now.”
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The Verdict: Not the right time
Walker-Peters, who was once praised for having an ‘immense’ spirit by sports journalist Josh Bunting, has come on leaps and bounds since leaving Spurs, but we don't feel this is a move that Fabio Paratici or Antonio Conte should look at completing at this moment in time.
The Edmonton-born talent still has three years remaining on his contract with the Saints, so they would likely have to activate the £30m buy-back with his current employers holding all the negotiating power due to the length of his deal.
Spurs are also locked in talks with Middlesbrough over a move for Djed Spence, so even if Walker-Peters were to return, it’s highly likely that he wouldn’t be the Italian’s first-choice option anyway.