You'll never (all agree about) Walker loan

By Mat Kendrick on Jan 5, 11 05:31 PM

PICTURE the scene. Aston Villa are leading 1-0 in the last minute of the final match of the season at home to Liverpool - a game they must win to stay up.

The ball is flung into the Villa box.

It pinballs around between a sea of legs before Kyle Walker make a decisive, last-ditch goalline clearance to protect the victory and more importantly keep Villa in the Premier League.

Does the fact that Walker is then given special dispensation to return to Tottenham in the Champions League final (I know he's not in their squad for Europe, but stay with me) and subsequently scores their winner at Wembley, make his contribution to Villa any less important?

I don't think so. But I was taken to task by a Villa fan on Twitter last night for daring to suggest that the identity of a loan player's parent club doesn't matter if he plays a part, temporarily or longer, in helping Villa.

"We don't want him Mat, we don't want to build up Spurs players only for them to go back to Spurs at the end of the season," was the view of Cheesy-Combo.

The suggestion was that Villa Park public enemy No.1 'Arry Redknapp was merely using Villa by getting them to give Walker Premier League experience to sharpen him up for Tottenham.

I could just about understand it if Gerard Houllier was talking about tempting detested Bluenose Paul Tait back out of retirement or was raiding White Hart Lane for Steve Hodge, the ex-Villan, but lifetime villain in the eyes of the claret and blue masses.

But this is a highly promising young player whose only crime is to want to establish himself in the Premier League and is available because Alan Hutton and Vedran Corluka are blocking his path at Spurs.

For a significant part of last season, Villa were effectively keeping James Milner warm for Manchester City and enhancing him ahead of his Eastlands move, but were obviously happy to enjoy the benefits in the interim (Granted, Milner's fine form strengthened Villa's bargaining position, while a positive impact from Walker would weaken their negotiating hand).

I take Combo's point that Villa already have three right-backs at the club, but Habib Beye is missing without trace, Luke Young is more seriously injured than first thought and Eric Lichaj, is an exciting work in progress with less professional experience than Walker, and the American will surely benefit from being dipped in and out of the team.

There's Carlos Cuellar, too, a centre half who performed the defensive elements of the right-back role exceptionally well at Chelsea on Sunday. But, it was clear under Martin O'Neill that as solid as the Spaniard, undoubtedly is, he is not the long-term solution in an age where wide defenders must also be accomplished attackers.

If Walker impresses at Villa, I believe an agreement is in place to discuss a permanent move and, although I'm not privy to such details, it would probably include a ball-park figure in terms of fee.

However, whether Villa are polishing him for Tottenham or improving him for themselves, it is surely how he performs in claret and blue over the crucial five months of his loan that matters most....