Kyle Walker is England’s number one right-back and a key man for Premier League champions Manchester City.
City Is Ours team members Alex Brotherton (AB) and Dom Farrell (DF) reviewed his current form and how the player has beaten the odds to keep his place under Pep Guardiola.
His performances in sky blue earned a starting spot at Euro 2020 and it seems like, at the age of 31, the Yorkshireman has hit his peak.
Alex and Dom discussed Walker’s brilliant form and the performances earlier this year that seemed to take him on to another level. Check out the full conversation here.
(Image: Getty)
AB: “I think it speaks volumes about his character. To not let the knockbacks get to him too much. He’s not the youngest player anymore. He’s 31 but he shows that he’s not going to just stand by and the youngsters coming up below him take him out of the spotlight just yet.
“He’s not quite ready to take a step back. He’s arguably at his peak now. It’s obviously quite unusual for an outfield player, you’d usually expect a 27 or 29-year-old to be playing their best football.
“But, I think Kyle Walker is now playing the best football of his career and he doesn’t look like he’s slowing down anytime soon to be quite honest.”
DF: “Some of the biggest displays Kyle had to offer were last season. Particularly in the Champions League.
“He was excellent against Borussia Dortmund. Then there were the two games in a space of a week, against PSG. Kylian Mbappe and Neymar – Kyle Walker didn’t give them a look in.”
(Image: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images)
AB: “Yeah it was incredible. I wasn’t so confident. I guess no one’s going tob e confident when your team are going against the likes of Mbappe and Neymar. Then obviously against Dortmund with [Erling] Haaland.
“I think his game is ideally suited to Champions League football. It’s not to say pace is his greatest quality, but when you combine that he is absolutely rapid, he’s great on the ball, he’s an incredible passer – it’s almost like his pace in an insurance policy.
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“Especially in those Champions League games when you’re more likely to get countered against than a Premier League game on a Saturday.
“Against PSG… PSG had a number of good-looking counter-attacks that Walker helped snuff out. In those games, I really think he is at the top of his game.
“Those kinds of contests bring the best out of him. When he’s playing against the very best attackers in the world and showing that not only can he keep up with them in a foot race, he can also outsmart them and he can be technically better than anyone else.”
What do you think of Kyle Walker’s performance in recent years? Follow our new City Is Ours team members Alex, Dom and Renuka on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
