Burnley’s late fightback against West Ham United helped them secure a 2-2 draw in their Championship opener on Sunday.
Everton manager David Moyes was at the game. He may have been monitoring Kyle Walker, who has been linked with a move to Merseyside.
Moyes is looking to sign a right-back this summer, having lost Seamus Coleman at the end of last season.
However, the Everton boss needs to look elsewhere. Walker struggled during the game and is clearly no longer good enough for the Premier League.
The former Manchester City man was on the line for the Hammers’ opener and failed to react as Max Kilman’s header went by him.
There was nothing that he could realistically do to stop the second goal from going in, but his overall performance showed his decline as a player.
Walker has never been the most polished full-back during his career, but his incredible recovery speed often compensated.
This set him apart from his peers and essentially became the defining characteristic of his game.
The 36-year-old no longer possesses the same pace and his shortcomings as a defender have become very apparent.
He has averaged 1.59 and 1.57 tackles per game in his last two seasons in the Premier League.
His ground duel win rate and tackles won per game have reached career-low numbers, and the frequency with which he is dribbled past has increased.
Walker has declined in recent years and is no longer capable of providing the volume of defensive actions needed to play in a Premier League defence.
His poor ball retention also makes him vulnerable to elite top-flight pressing structures, making him an obvious target during games.
Walker should be left to see out the rest of his career at Burnley.