'I played a direct role in Kyle Walker-Peters to West Ham' - ex-scout shares inside story

Kyle Walker-Peters may have never eventually made it to West Ham United if he had not been recommended to Tottenham Hotspur as a youngster.

That is according to former senior Tottenham scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

The 29-year-old is expected to be the first choice at right-back for Nuno Espirito Santo in the Championship this season, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka linked with a move away.

Walker-Peters joined West Ham last summer on a free transfer after leaving Southampton, where he had been for almost five years.

The England international was impressive in the minutes he had last season, proving a reliable alternative at right-back.

Walker-Peters can also play on the left, and has also been known to feature further up the pitch.

Bryan King shares Kyle Walker-Peters story

Walker-Peters' career began at Tottenham, where he spent the entirety of his youth career before making 24 appearances for the senior team.

An initial loan move to Southampton would be made permanent in 2020 with a £12million deal. But the defender may have never made it to North London in the first place, if it had not been for a conversation.

"It's a funny story with Walker-Peters. I was getting the legends' award at Millwall, and I was getting it alongside a boy called Phil Walker, who played for Millwall," King told Football Insider. 

"Walker-Peters was his nephew. He was only about 15. I was working at Tottenham at the time. And he said: 'You know, he lives in South London, in his school, but nobody's really showed any interest in him.'

"I talked to the to the head of the youth department, who was a fella called John Moncur senior, his son played for West Ham. They had a look at him, and they signed him.

"Then, of course, they sold him on to Southampton and, you know, for a lot of money. He came through the youth system, and now he's at West Ham.

"I've quite liked him, Walker-Peters. It's a funny story, really, isn't it? You know, when you look back and think of these things, he's had a great career, and hopefully he'll continue to have a good career."

Phil Walker: 'We always though that he was good enough'

Walker made over 150 appearances for Millwall in the 1970s and remains an icon at The Den following his passing at the age of 67 in 2022.

Speaking after his nephew's Tottenham debut in 2017, he said: "We were more nervous than him. Kyle is quite a calm boy, he doesn’t seem to be fazed by much. He just took it in his stride.

"Dennis was very calm. You wouldn’t have realised that his son was making his debut for Tottenham. He’s always believed in him. He wasn’t fazed at all - much like Kyle.

"He was unbelievably proud. My brother doesn’t say much but you could see how proud he was.

"And the whole family - we’ve got a lot of Arsenal supporters but even they were happy to see Kyle play so well! We always thought that he was good enough. It was just about giving him the opportunity."