"The biggest bit of business" - Claim made on Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters as Arsenal and Chelsea lurk | OneFootball

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Southampton are currently flying in the automatic promotion race, with Russell Martin's side seemingly an unstoppable juggernaut against any opponents they've faced in recent months.

After eventually navigating themselves through a tough start to life back in the Championship for the first time since the 2011/12 campaign, when the landscape of the division couldn't have been more different, the former Swansea City boss and his players have gone on to create club history.

They extended their ever-growing unbeaten run in all competitions to 23 matches with a 2-0 win at the league's bottom club, Rotherham United on Saturday afternoon, as well as moving into second place for the first time this season as Ipswich Town were defeated 3-2 by Preston North End at Deepdale.

Results in recent weeks have been key for the Saints, but they'll also feel that they were successful in the January transfer window. Despite losing Carlos Alcaraz to Juventus, they fended off interest in a number of key assets.

Kyle Walker-Peters remains a Southampton player

One of those assets has been right-back Kyle Walker-Peters, who has been the subject of interest from a number of sides in the Premier League and across Europe.

It's no surprise either, as the former Tottenham Hotspur man was also monitored by clubs in the summer following relegation, at a time when Martin saw a high amount of player turnover during his first transfer window on the South Coast.

This included the likes of Newcastle United monitoring his services, before they opted to sign fellow Southampton full-back Tino Livramento for an initial £32m fee.

In January, interest refused to die down, as the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham United were all linked with moves for the 26-year-old, who according to Alex Crook, has no interest in signing a new deal with his current employers.

After maintaining his services, our Southampton FC fan pundit Martin Sanders believes it was the most important aspect of his side's transfer window as a whole.

"The biggest bit of business this January was keeping Kyle Walker-Peters," Sanders began. "No matter what you say, he's an unbelievable player. Delighted to have him, I think he's too good for the division, he's the best right-back in the division by a country mile."

"Russell Martin had a press conference today at the training ground, and he said it was so important to keep him but also Stuart Armstrong and Jan Bednarek. They would've all created interest in this window, and those three are vital.

"But, delighted he's still a Saint! I think he'd be a massive reason behind us getting automatic promotion."

Kyle Walker-Peters' incredible 2023/24 season

All followers of the Championship can acknowledge the incredible season which Walker-Peters has enjoyed, and Sanders' claim that he's the division's best right-back can certainly be backed up by his stats.

His athleticism and pace has seen Martin gain the trust that he's beyond capable of being a key asset in defence and attack, as well as the transition between the two.

According to SofaScore, Walker-Peters has been the club's best performer this season with an average rating of 7.41, outperforming the club's top scorer, Adam Armstrong.

With Southampton still having 17 league outings to play, there's even more time for the full-back to continue his incredible form, and more than likely feature in the Championship Team of the Season when it's unveiled in the latter stages of the campaign.

He could be one of several key differences between an automatic promotion place or having to go up via the play-offs.

Next up for Southampton

Southampton's next fixture is a home replay against Watford in the FA Cup Fourth Round following a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road on January 28th.

Their next league encounter sees Huddersfield Town make the long trip to St Mary's, with the hosts looking to extend their long-standing unbeaten run which stretches back to September 30th.