England boss Gareth Southgate has lavished praise on to Manchester City defender Kyle Walker.
After the Three Lions’ 1-1 draw against Ukraine in which the decorated right-back scored his first ever goal for his country, the ex-Middlesborough manager gave his two cents on him.
It’s safe to say that despite Kyle Walker being 33 years old, he is still held in the highest possible regard by Gareth Southgate, as quoted by the Guardian.
Gareth Southgate raves about ‘world-class’ Kyle Walker
Branded as ‘irreplaceable’ by Pep Guardiola, the Sheffield-born defender remains one of the best players in his position in the world.
Now, Gareth Southgate has emphasised on how key Kyle Walker is to the England set-up and how he stopped him from retiring on two separate occasions.
“I’ve talked him [Walker] out of retirement twice.”
“After the Euros and after the World Cup. I think he loves being here, he’s wanted to keep going and now he’s thinking about how many caps he can get. He’s critical to us. If we’re talking about world‑class players in their position in our team then he’s probably one of them. I think he didn’t realise how much value we have for him and how important he is for us.”
Kyle Walker is still instrumental for club and country
The admission from Gareth Southgate about going out of his way to convince Kyle Walker not to retire shows how imperative he is for England to this day.
While for Manchester City as well, especially in a big game, the treble-winner is likely to be one of the first names on the team sheet.
This is testament to Walker’s incredible longevity, tremendous athleticism and tactical flexibility that still makes him such a crucial weapon for both club and country.
After Kyle Walker hangs up his boots, there is likely to be no question that he is England and the Premier League’s greatest ever right-back.
