£30m talk will be playing on Southampton's mind as Spurs linger: View | OneFootball

Kyle Walker-Peters’ strong form this season has supposedly alerted clubs to his availability with Southampton looking for a Premier League return - but the Saints should be wary of Tottenham if they are to keep their star man.

Walker-Peters burst through the Tottenham academy before joining Southampton on loan initially in 2020, before making it a permanent move shortly after.

With Serge Aurier and Kieran Trippier both ahead of him in his time in North London, playing time was hard to attain for the young full-back, and by the time he had left, Juan Foyth and Moussa Sissoko were both adept at playing on the right-side to severely damage any potential game-time.

It was just 24 appearances for Walker-Peters at Tottenham before he joined Southampton, and over 140 outings later, he still remains a bright light in the Saints side despite relegation last year from the Premier League.

But if Southampton don’t go up, it could spell trouble in the future amid a buy-back clause.

Reports have suggested that Tottenham inserted a £30 million buy-back clause in the deal that took Walker-Peters to the south coast.

Should Tottenham opt to trigger that, then it's hard to see Walker-Peters jumping into Ange Postecoglou's starting 11 as Pedro Porro has been one of the more impressive right-back in the Premier League this season.

However, The Athletic have suggested that Walker-Peters was on Arsenal and Manchester United’s radar a year and a half ago, while Graeme Bailey has recently stated that a move back to Tottenham couldn’t be ruled out.

You would figure that Walker-Peters will be in the Premier League next season, be it with Southampton or one of the teams linked with his signature, which could well spark fears in the Saints’ ranks.

Of course, there could be a bidding war between the clubs that aren’t Tottenham as there isn’t a set clause to bargain with for those teams, but if Tottenham do bid the reported £30 million to activate a deal, Southampton would be powerless to stop it from happening.

Why Southampton would hate to lose Kyle Walker-Peters

Only costing Southampton a £12 million fee back in 2020, Walker-Peters has been arguably the standout right-back this season in the second-tier alongside Archie Gray and Milan van Ewijk, so they would be loathed to lose him.

It would represent over double their money back in terms of transfer fee, and it’s not entirely a bad fee to receive should Tottenham opt to pay it.

But replacing someone of Walker-Peters’ quality - especially if Southampton do stay in the Championship - will be incredibly tough as he’s a Premier League standard player stuck in the second tier of English football.

Russell Martin and his recruitment team would be hard-pressed to find an adequate replacement and as a result, the club would be extremely wary.

How Kyle Walker-Peters has fared this season at Southampton

A glance at FBref tells you everything you need to know about Walker-Peters’ quality in the Championship.

Ranking in the top 1% in the division for fullbacks in pass completion, progressive carries and touches in the opponents box per 90 minutes, whilst also ranking in the top 3% for attempted passes, progressive passes and take-ons in the division - it would be extremely difficult to replace Walker-Peters with someone of similar quality.

Add his two goals and two assists in the Championship this season, and it’s an asset that Southampton would be gutted to see go.