England star gives three-word St James' Park verdict as Newcastle United compared to Sunderland & Leeds

Kyle Walker named Newcastle United’s St James’ Park as one of the best atmospheres.

‘What a ground’ the Manchester City and England star said when giving his verdict on St James’ Park. The 34-year-old also namechecked Manchester United, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Newcastle’s bitter rivals Sunderland when asked about his favourite stadiums to play at for atmosphere.

Walker, who is part of the England squad for Euro 2024, was not involved in the 3-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina at St James’ Park on Monday night.

But he told the You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker podcast: “I like [Manchester] United. Old Trafford. I like going there. We’ve been fortunate to get the results we have done, especially over your rivals. But even when I played at Tottenham, it probably didn’t come off as well as it has done over recent years but I still always enjoyed going to Old Trafford. I like St James’ Park as well. I just think ‘What a ground’.”

Walker’s co-host, Chris Hughes, is a Sunderland fan - prompting the Man City star to say: “Sunderland’s weren’t bad, I don’t mind Sunderland’s.

“And I like Villa’s, maybe because I played there. You don’t hear certain things. You go to Anfield and there’s the ‘Never Walk Alone’, you hear these things because they’re at the start of the game but apart from that, you don’t really hear much because you’re just so in the zone of concentrating.

“For the fans, they’re definitely sets of fans that you’d put right up there. The one-team cities, Sunderland, Newcastle, Leeds - these fans are so passionate.”