Tottenham Hotspur have opened their account in this summer’s transfer market by making a move on 21-year-old Anton Walkes to EFL League One team Portsmouth, who currently ply their trade in the third tier of English football, reports BBC Sport.
The move was something that the Tottenham board saw coming, as Walkes struggled to make an impact on the first team squad and needed to find a new challenge elsewhere as a breakthrough into the team was being an obstacle he could not get past. The confirmation of the departure was made known to the public as Spurs announced the event on their official website and via all social media platforms. The club, however, have not disclosed the transfer fee of the player.
Walkes is an academy graduate of the London based club who spent five years with the conservatory setup. The young right-back has joined Portsmouth on a permanent deal after he was successful during his short-term loan stint at Fratton Park, which occurred during this year’s January transfer window. The Lewisham born English defender was successful at only making a single appearance in a Spurs jersey during Tottenham’s participation in the EFL Cup in 2016. He was a used substitute against Gillingham as Marcus Edwards made way for Walkes in his first and final appearance for the club.
The youngster took to Twitter to express his appreciation towards everything the Spurs coaching setup had done and had helped him through his career. “Can’t thank some of the people at Tottenham Hotspurs enough for the years of belief and effort installed into me. Now time to put all that to good use… all the best.”
Walkes previously had a loan stretch at MLS side Atlanta United last year where he was somewhat successful and allowed Spurs to recall him back to their setup. Instead, Walkes struggled as he was deemed not good enough to climb his way up the pecking order and into the first team at Spurs.
Upon completing a successful loan period at Portsmouth, regular playing time captivated the player and he could not help resist a move back to the Pompey setup, rather than staying on as an Under-23 player for Tottenham. The move is a good one for both parties as sitting on the sidelines was something Tottenham were not hoping for, and his arrival will boost the chances of Portsmouth climbing out of the League One and into the EFL Championship.
The 21-year-old is a promising young defender who succumbed to injury towards the finals stages of his loan stint at Portsmouth. Manager Kenny Jackett of Portsmouth, took to the team’s website to speak about Walkes stating, “Anton’s still young and has a really big future in the game. We’re delighted to be able to sign him on a permanent basis. He’s somebody we obviously know very well.”
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Here’s hoping Anton Walkes has a more successful spell at Fratton Park and possibly one day a return to the Premier League will be on the cards for the Englishman.
