Glen de la Clour has offered his thoughts on Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters' current situation.

What's the talk?

Southampton writer Glen de la Clour has expressed his concern at the lack of game time for right-back Kyle Walker-Peters in the Premier League this season.

He told the Total Saints podcast, via This is Futbol:

“I think Kyle Walker-Peters is ridiculously unlucky not to be playing. I do find it a bit of a worry. I mean, I heard a story not so long ago that Everton were sniffing around him on the last day of the transfer window.

“And if I was him, I’d be really fed up. And it’s just a case of how patient he is likely to be. Obviously, you can’t really do anything into January, if you’re really fed up.

“But yeah, it’s an interesting one, because he has basically been left out having done absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever.”

Fans would be livid

Ralph Hasenhuttl needs to handle this situation with care to avoid making a major blunder ahead of the January transfer window. As de la Clour explained, Walker-Peters could end up becoming restless and potentially keen to leave the club if he continues to be a substitute in the Premier League behind Tino Livramento and that could cause issues ahead of the market opening up again in a few months, which would leave fans livid.

Livramento joined the club from Chelsea in the summer and the teenager has started all four Premier League matches at right-back. He has averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.69, making 3.3 tackles and interceptions along with one key pass per game.

Walker-Peters, meanwhile, has started one league match and it came as a left-back in place of Romain Perraud, which is a role he was also deployed in for the League Cup win against Newport County. Last season, however, the ex-Spurs defender averaged an impressive WhoScored rating of 6.84 in 30 Premier League starts, making 4.1 tackles and interceptions along with 0.5 key passes per game.

Hasenhuttl hailed Walker-Peters' intense style of play upon his arrival at the club last year.

The Austrian said: “He is a very good fit for our style. He is a young, intelligent player, and he is very good on the ball, with good quickness and an ability to play this intense style that we like.

“I am very pleased we have been able to bring him back as our player, as this is a position that we have been looking to improve in and Kyle does this for us. I think he can develop his game even more here too.”

This shows that Walker-Peter plays the way Hasenhuttl wants his right-back to play and the statistics suggest that he has, in the past, performed to a higher standard in the Premier League than Livramento. Therefore, he could be within his rights to be frustrated at a lack of action.

The 24-year-old could then get itchy feet and consider a move, which would leave fans furious as he has proven himself to be a solid operator at this level. He has shown his quality in the top-flight and fans will want to see Hasenhuttl share the game time between the pair in the coming months to ensure that everyone is happy with the situation.

AND in other news, £34k-p/w gem's value has risen 143% since Southampton exit, Ralph made a huge mistake...