The whole of football loves the story of a rising star. A young player working his way through the ranks to become the next global football phenomenon. At the PFA Awards last weekend, Tottenham Hotspur’s Kyle Walker was the latest to be labelled the ‘next big thing’.
Walker has been taking the Premier League by storm this season and being named Young Player of the Year was confirmation of the high esteem his peers hold him in. His inclusion in the PFA Premier League team of the year further cementing his place in this country’s elite. This is the story of that meteoric rise.
Kyle Walker had only been in the first team squad of his home-town club Sheffield United for one season, some of which he spent on loan at Northampton Town. He made just 4 appearances for the Blades at the tail end of that season, however his late surge into the first team saw him play in a play off final at Wembley, the youngest ever Blades player to do so. This limited experience but unlimited potential was enough to tempt Spurs to part with £9m for Walker and fellow promising full back and namesake Kyle Naughton.
At the time Naughton was seen as the brighter prospect of the two, already an established Sheffield United player when Walker broke into the team. Yet it is Walker who now finds himself the bigger name. It didn’t quite happen for Walker overnight however. Despite the high regard his new employers held him in he was still hugely inexperienced in first team football. More loan spells were to follow.
Seemingly no sooner than he had arrived at Spurs, Walker was sent back to Sheffield United on loan where he was virtually an ever present during his time there. But it was the 2010/2011 season when he really started to stamp his name on the footballing world.
The first half of the season was spent at high flying QPR as they stormed to the top of the Championship. The second half saw him move up yet another level as he spent the remainder of the season at Aston Villa. Making his Premier League debut and scoring his first Premier League goal in the process.
Walker had stated in interviews that he had enjoyed his time at Villa and would welcome a return to the club as opportunities had been limited for him at Spurs. However Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp decided this would not be the case as Walker had played his way into the Spurs team.
Walker started Spurs opening Premier League game this season, away at Manchester United, and has gone on to play in 33 of Spurs 34 league games so far. This, as well as numerous other appearances in both domestic cups and the Europa League has firmly established Walker as Spurs first choice right back. Unseating established internationals Alan Hutton and Vedran Ćorluka, who Spurs paid a combined £16million for.
His consistent performances along with his attack minded style of play have gone down well with the Spurs faithful. But it was his winner against North London rivals Arsenal, a fiercely struck drive from 25 yards, which has really made him a cult hero at Spurs. And so early in his Spurs career. Besides his form this season and being awarded as the aforementioned PFA Young Player of the Year, bare in mind that he won over the likes of Sergio Agüero, Danny Wellbeck and Spurs team mate Gareth Bale.
Now seemingly already an established Premier League player, Kyle Walker’s rise has been just as rapid on the international scene. Walker was capped numerous times at Under 19 and Under 21 level and was named in the Best 11 of the European Under 21 Championships in 2011. This despite England having a poor tournament which saw then knocked out in the first round.
Walker’s ascendency to footballing supremacy was confirmed when he made his full England debut on November 12th 2011 against Spain, the same nation he made his Under 19 debut against just 2 years previous. Just 3 days later Walker made his first start in an England shirt against Sweden and is now firmly a part of the England set up.
Perhaps the claim in the title of this piece about being England’s best right back is a little premature, he still faces stern competition from Micah Richards and Glen Johnson after all. It’s also hard to speculate whether Kyle Walker will be part of this summer’s European Championships when we don’t know whose decision that will be yet. But with such a successful campaign nearly behind him, Walker seems to have as strong a claim as anybody for a place in England’s back four, let alone their squad.
The future’s certainly bright for Kyle Walker. And it’s easy to imagine a glittering career of international and Champions League football laying ahead of him if he continues to improve at his current rate (let’s not forget that he’s only 21). Whilst the newspapers may like the fall of a football superstar, real fans much prefer seeing a player on the way up.
In a time when so many column inches are spent on the negative; scandal, diving, clubs in crisis (and experienced international footballers getting sent off for petty reasons in Champions League semi finals when they really should know better by now), it’s nice to tell a story of someone who does their talking on the pitch in a positive manner. We’re lucky to have many exciting young talents currently plying their trade in this country and Kyle Walker is amongst the best of them.