Sam Allardyce has claimed that Kyle Walker has overtaken Gary Neville in terms of being the best right-back the Premier League has ever seen.
The defender is one game away from finishing his sixth season with Manchester City since arriving from Tottenham Hotspur back in 2017 in a deal worth an overall fee of £50m.
Having won his fifth Premier League title and second FA Cup this season, the Englishman has the chance to win his first Champions League this weekend as Pep Guardiola’s side will be taking on Inter Milan in the final on Saturday.
Given the significant top-flight experience the 33-year-old now has under his belt, one former Premier League manager has had his say on where the City star ranks in terms of all-time right-backs in England.
Allardyce lauds Walker
Speaking on the latest episode of the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Allardyce said this when asked if he thinks Walker is a better right-back than Neville was.
He said: “I’d say slightly better. All-round game, more pace, up and down, better quality.
“Handles the more challenging winger, and can nullify him now and unlike most full-backs today who can’t defend, who are more interested in going forward than defending, he does both exceptionally well now and uses his turbo feet to sometimes get himself out of trouble when he’s in the wrong position.”
With 363 Premier League appearances to his name, Walker has scored eight goals and provided 34 assists, whereas Neville scored five goals and delivered 34 assists in 398 top-flight appearances across his playing career.
In a recent video on The Overlap, Neville, himself praised the City star for defensive attributes in one-against-one situations.
With all of that in mind, it’s clear that the two full-backs can be considered as two of the best the Premier League has seen given their longevity and success.
However, with Allardyce placing Walker above Neville, this should delight a lot of City supporters.
