Everton loanee Theo Walcott has hinted that he would very much be interested in remaining at Southampton on a long-term basis.
The English winger returned to his former club on a season-long loan on deadline day of the summer window.
Interestingly, Walcott’s contract with the Toffees expires at the end of the season, yet the board sanctioned the move. This seemingly allows the player to have his wages removed from the Toffee’s wage bill and opens up a pathway to joining the Saints as a free agent if he impresses.
It seems unlikely as a result that he will extend his deal during his spell on the south coast and the 31-year-old also hinted at the possibility of moving into coaching. Walcott discussed his desire to help young players follow in his footsteps at St Mary’s, where the winger graduated from and was offered his first steps into first-team football.
“I want to help the academy graduates coming through now,” Walcott said.
“I’m sure they’ve got a lot of questions to ask – quite a few of them have already been asking me things. A lot of them have been saying, ‘I watched you at Arsenal and now I’m playing with you!’ so that’s a nice touch.
“I feel like everyone’s a really hard worker.
“With the way the manager wants to play, you need to work hard, and if you don’t work hard you’re not going to play. It’s simple – there’s no hiding place.
“He expects perfection in certain jobs – particularly without the ball, but that’s something that I’m starting to learn pretty quickly now, and I’m looking forward to the next game.”
He also hinted at a long-term stint on the south coast:
“The manager has pulled me to one side a few times and put me in a room to go through a lot of tactics, which is nice to see, just to get my coaching head on, because that’s something in the future I might want to look at. “It’s very interesting. I’m really enjoying my short time working with the manager at the moment and hopefully it can be a long-term thing.”
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There’s almost a poetic feeling here; Walcott will have an easy pathway into coaching at the club where it all began for him, and Everton will have one of their outcast figures off their books.
It seemingly works out well for all parties, and it is unsurprising that Walcott was keen to take the opportunity.
