Everton Eyes Kyle Walker as Right-Sided Defender Solution

Everton’s search for a reliable right-sided defender has led them firmly toward Kyle Walker, with the vacancy in that area of their back line becoming impossible to ignore.

Nathan Patterson has struggled for regular minutes and is edging towards the end of his contract, leaving David Moyes to improvise. At times he has had to push centre-back Jake O’Brien out to the flank, a short-term fix that underlines just how urgent the problem has become.

Walker, though, offers something very different.

Versatility that fits Everton’s need

At Burnley, new boss Nicky Hayen has already tapped into Walker’s flexibility. The veteran has been used as a right-sided centre-back in a back three, a role he knows inside out after years under Gareth Southgate with England. He can still play as a traditional right-back, but that hybrid position — part defender, part auxiliary full-back — is where he has recently excelled.

For Everton, that profile is gold. It plugs a gap, gives tactical options, and brings leadership to a defence that has lacked a natural presence on that side.

The Merseyside club are not limiting themselves to one option. They are also tracking Celtic’s Alistair Johnston and Crystal Palace’s Daniel Muñoz, eyeing competition and depth in that specific channel. Yet the prospect of prising Walker back to the Premier League carries a particular weight. For a player who has lived at the top level for so long, the pull of returning to English football’s main stage could be decisive.

Leading Burnley while rumours swirl

Transfer talk has swirled around him, but Walker has not drifted through pre-season. He has driven it.

At Turf Moor, he has taken on a leading role in a Burnley side determined to bounce straight back to the Premier League. He captained the Clarets in their recent Carabao Cup victory over Notts County, then stepped up when it mattered most, calmly converting the decisive penalty in the shootout. That moment summed up his presence: experienced, composed, still willing to take responsibility.

He has already nailed his colours to Burnley’s mast publicly. Speaking at the EFL media day, Walker framed this phase of his career as a challenge he has embraced rather than endured.

"It's a different challenge for me personally but it's all about the club and bouncing back to the Premier League - that is vital. It's about your mentality," he said, underlining his commitment to the project and the standards he expects.

“I am not becoming anyone’s meme”

If anyone wondered whether age or the drop to the Championship might dull his edge, Walker answered that himself with a pointed message about his fitness and hunger to stay at the top.

Facing younger, quicker forwards in the second tier has not dented his confidence. If anything, it has sharpened it.

"I think they try to create, what are they called… memes now. They’ll try and create memes out of me, but I can assure you I am not becoming anyone’s meme," he said, bristling at the idea he could be reduced to a viral clip.

"So when you come against me, I'll give it 100 percent. If you beat me on the day, you know, you shake hands at the end of the game, and you say it's a good game. I'm not rolling out anything to become a meme."

That defiance tells its own story. Walker does not sound like a player easing himself toward retirement. He sounds like a defender who still believes he belongs under the brightest lights — which is exactly why Everton are watching so closely.