Analysing Kyle Walker-Peters’ excellent debut for Tottenham against Newcastle

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Maybe Tottenham have opened a Kyle Walker factory, joked one user on Twitter. Either that or the original Kyle Walker simply decided to get married during the summer.

Such joking aside, watching Kyle Walker-Peters succeed his namesake at St. James Park at the weekend was a genuinely surreal experience. While Tottenham’s new right-back may be noticeably smaller and obviously younger than his predecessor, both players also boast a similar game and offer the same type of pace, drive and energy up and down the flank.

Making his debut in the cauldron that is St. James Park, Walker-Peters acquitted himself well and made the type of introduction that players crave. While it may have lacked the obvious impact of Nemanja Matic’s first performance for Manchester United over the weekend, Walker-Peters slotted in seamlessly as part of an experienced Spurs defence while providing an excellent outlet in attack.

He was helped by a lacklustre Newcastle showing, as, despite an exceptionally high-tempo opening and an early half-chance for Dwight Gayle in the inside left channel, Rafa Benitez’ men never really looked like penetrating Tottenham’s defence. Still, Walker-Peters held his position well when Newcastle did attack, while he managed to complete 40% of his tackles and win 25% of his aerial duels during the game.

Despite this (and rather like the man he succeeded), it was in attack that Kyle Walker-Peters really impressed. One particular thrust in the first half saw him skin Chancel Mbemba before delivering a drilled cross that Harry Kane just failed to get on target. In this move he showed genuine pace and the type of accurate final ball that let his predecessor down on so many occasions.

The same precision was evident in his distribution too, as he completed 91% of his passes and showed real quality in possession of the ball.

This was one of five crosses completed by Walker-Peters during the game, while the youngster also managed three take-ons as the game opened up following Jonjo Shelvey’s dismissal in the second half.

The debutant certainly had the confidence and tactical awareness to press higher up the pitch against the 10 men of Newcastle, as he looked to stretch the play and create space for Spurs’ creative duo of Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli (who combined brilliantly to break the deadlock).

In many ways, the quality of Walker-Peters’ debut and the economy with which he played suggested that Mauricio Pochettino was simply trying to protect the youngster in pre-season when he was quoted, by The Sun, as saying that a debut against Newcastle may prove “too much for him”.

If he was in any doubt, this will have been dispelled to some degree by the composure and ability that the player showed in a white-hot atmosphere.

While sterner challenges await, and Walker-Pieters will surely drop out of the first-team once Kieran Tripper is fit again (or new recruits arrive), the England Under-20 World Cup winner has made the best possible start to his top-flight career.