Kyle Walker-Peters revealed he was feeling ready for the rigours of a new Premier League season – thanks to some intense warm-weather work alongside close pal Dele Alli.
Kyle Walker-Peters said “I was in Dubai and Portugal with Dele. It was tough but really enjoyable as well. We trained at NAS Centre (in Dubai) – the Crown Prince’s gym, which was nice. The facilities were great. We just worked on our fitness, worked on a few techniques and it was great to do. It makes a huge difference, you know? Sometimes you might wake up and not really want to do it but when you’ve got your mate next to you saying ‘come on, we’ve got to go’ or vice-versa, it does help. Being on the pitch with your friend, there’s nothing better, so it’s a big help.”
Edmonton-born Walker-Peters played just less than 30 minutes when Saints beat Cardiff City 4-0 in a friendly last week. He started and featured for an hour before being replaced by Yan Valery in Saturday’s 3-1 triumph over Swansea City. Assessing the victory over the Swans, Walker-Peters said: “I thought we stuck to the task really well.
Kyle Walker-Peters said “We have changed our style a bit and we are still working on it but I thought on Saturday we looked really good using that style and hopefully we kick on from here. In my instance, there’s a few different things I need to do that the gaffer’s asked me to do. I am starting to feel more and more comfortable doing those things and I think they showed. I feel great. During the off season I was working really hard to maintain my fitness. I did give myself a rest but I worked really hard on bettering myself physically. I feel ready but there are two more games to go. We are just going to keep trying to improve those tactics, keep getting sharper on the ball and hopefully go into the season really strong.”
Walker-Peters is expected to feature when Saints host La Liga outfits Levante and Athletic Bilbao in pre-season friendlies this week. The Saints full-back had been getting himself prepared alongside his former Spurs team-mate to return to pre-season – the pair putting themselves through their paces in both Dubai and Portugal during the off season. Walker-Peters and Alli trained at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex while in Dubai and the Saints man said it was a boost to have someone on hand to spur him on.
