Kevin De Bruyne has defended Kyle Walker after Roy Keane labelled the Manchester City defender an idiot. Walker has been in excellent form for City so far this season but gave away a soft penalty for a foul on Sadio Mane in last weekend’s draw with Liverpool. It led to a rant from Keane, who branded Walker an ‘idiot’ and a ‘car crash’. Keane’s comments earned a comeback from England boss Gareth Southgate, who spoke out about ‘personal criticism’ of players. De Bruyne has now also defended his City teammate, who he will line up against when Belgium face England in the Nations League this weekend. Pointing to Walker’s good form so far this season, the Belgian midfielder argued that Keane’s criticism will mean very little to the 30-year-old.
Kevin De Bruyne said “I think from the moment that Kyle came to the team, he’s been one of the most consistent performers with us, He’s never injured, he plays all the time. He’s reliable and he’s a really good defender. I think the job that he does is a really good job. Obviously when you compare every position it’s different. You can’t compare the work that Kyle does to, for instance, Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool. Trent is the more offensive player and Kyle has to play a different role for us, but he does it really well and there’s a reason why he’s playing all these years at this level for all these teams. It means he’s been really good. OK, what Roy Keane says… he’s a different man and everybody knows that. But, OK, it’s his opinion and he’ll take it on the chin. He’s going to be fine with it.”
