Southampton have seen their hopes of being able to call on Kyle Walker-Peters in the Premier League this season boosted as West Ham United close in on a deal for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Russell Martin will be desperate to keep Kyle Walker-Peters at Southampton this summer but the defender’s situation is complicated given he has entered the final year of his contract.
Southampton are keen to avoid a repeat of this summer, where Che Adams and Stuart Armstrong both left for free following the end of their respective deals when the Saints could have instead received a fee.
Walker-Peters was Southampton’s sole representative in the EFL Championship Team of the Season due to his impressive performances last campaign and is one of the club’s most valuable assets even with his contract situation.
Given Walker-Peters is likely to be available for much lower than his true value clubs have been circling for his signature, with West Ham the club who have been pushing hardest for a deal.
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West Ham signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka should end interest in Southampton star Kyle Walker-Peters
Walker-Peters made his long-awaited first appearance of pre-season on Saturday as Southampton played out a 0-0 draw with Getafe in their final game before facing Newcastle United on the opening weekend of the Premier League.
The 27-year-old has been fit all summer but had been kept out of the side due to the speculation surrounding his future with reports the player himself had even given West Ham the green light over a move.
Now, with West Ham on the brink of announcing the signing of Manchester United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka for £15 million, it should see the Hammers end their pursuit of Walker-Peters.
This will be music to Southampton fans’ ears, but Walker-Peters staying beyond the end of the transfer window is still far from guaranteed.
Tottenham Hotspur likely to revive Walker-Peters interest following Emerson Royal sale
Brighton were one of the clubs credited with interest in Walker-Peters early in the summer, as were Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham would likely represent an attractive option for the two-cap England international as it is the club at which Walker-Peters started his career and would also offer him the opportunity to play in Europe.
Spurs’ pursuit of a back-up full-back saw them consider Walker-Peters earlier in the transfer window, with the Saint viewed as a ‘low-cost’ option as well as his ability to play both on the right and left being very useful.
Tottenham now look set to wrap up the sale of Emerson Royal to AC Milan and this could spell bad news for Southampton.
Royal acted as back-up to Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie at Spurs last season and his departure is likely to see Tottenham revive their interest in Walker-Peters.
Southampton will not give up hope of keeping their best full-back, though, and will hope that Walker-Peters could be put off by a reduced role at Tottenham.