KYLE WALKER-PETERS is on a mission to step up and become a Premier League star.
And it is one many thought would be impossible after his nightmare for Tottenham in the Nou Camp last December.
His slip allowed Ousmane Dembele to give Barcelona an early lead in a Champions League group clash that Spurs could not afford to lose.
Fortunately, though, it was not fatal as the club’s academy product regained his composure and Lucas Moura’s late leveller earned them a last-16 spot.
Spurs famously ended up reaching the Champions League final, but that night at the Nou Camp is not one Walker-Peters, 22, will forget easily.
He said: “I don’t know if you’ve seen it but as soon as he scores, I lie on the floor. I just wanted the ground to open and swallow me up.
“It was the worst feeling but even though the noise was amazing, the first voice I heard was Danny Rose’s. He told me, ‘Don’t worry, stay calm’.
A lot of people probably thought I was going to crumble after making that mistake. Instead, I did the opposite. I gained strength from it. I used it to improve.
“The thing is, before that I had been playing well. I remember going back to my position for the restart and Harry Kane telling me, ‘Don’t worry, you’re playing well, you’ve got this.’
“Then shortly after that, they clipped another ball up to my head and I was the last man again.
“I remember thinking to myself, ‘I have to win this header or that could be my game over, you know, as a confidence thing.’
“But I not only won it, I absolutely smashed the ball and player. I went right through him…
“After that my confidence shot back and I ended up having one of the most touches of any player in the game.
“That day helped me learn about myself. You see mistakes like that happen all the time.
“But I don’t know how many times you see players recovering from it. I thought it was going to be a difficult night for me after that.
“You know what, I recovered and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be.
“A lot of people probably thought I was going to crumble after making that mistake. Instead, I did the opposite. I gained strength from it. I used it to improve.”
I have come to that stage in my career when I really need to be pushing the people in front of me and trying to pull away from the people behind me.
Nearly nine months down the line, Walker-Peters is pushing harder for a place in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI following Kieran Trippier’s departure to Atletico Madrid.
KWP added: “Is there a chink of light with Tripps leaving? I guess there is.
“There will be more opportunities for me now there is one less full-back.
“But I still have to prove myself so the manager plays me when he thinks it is right. When I do get the opportunity, I just have to prove myself time and time again.
“At a top club like this there is always the possibility of someone coming here and taking my position.”
Walker-Peters may only be young but he already knows from experience you cannot afford to take anything for granted in football.
One of the stars of England Under-21s’ Euro qualifying campaign, he was surprisingly left out of Aidy Boothroyd’s 23-man squad for the finals in Italy this summer.
The Spurs ace said: “The manager called me and explained why and I had no choice but to take it as a man.
“I hadn’t missed a camp for a long time, yet I can’t dwell on it too much.
“I was part of the U20 World Cup-winning squad and I’ve had a good spell with the England youth system.
“I must look to the senior team.”
Despite his success at that level, KWP says his development days are now behind him. The Edmonton-born defender comes from good stock — his uncle Phil Walker played for Millwall and Charlton and was one of this reporter’s first footballing heroes in the late 1970s.
But Walker-Peters admitted: “I don’t want to look at myself as a younger player anymore.
“I have come to that stage in my career when I really need to be pushing the people in front of me and trying to pull away from the people behind me.
“My main focus is on trying to establish myself in the first team.
“Why now? Age mainly. I am 22 and want to kick on in my career. That can only come from myself.
“I cannot complain at the way my career has gone so far — I am playing for one of the best teams in the country, if not the world.
“The manager has also given me opportunities that I could never have imagined — playing in the Premier and Champions Leagues — and I just want more of it.”
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