EPL
Kyle Walker’s time at Manchester City appears to be coming to an end.
Walker was not included in the squad for the 8-0 victory over Salford City in the FA Cup on Saturday, and after the match manager Pep Guardiola revealed exactly why.
“Well…,” he opened, and after a brief pause he broke the news that eclipsed everything that happened in the match itself. “It’s not easy for me to say because he should say, but he’s not here, so, two days ago Kyle asked to explore the options to play abroad at the end of his career.”
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Guardiola convinced Walker to stay in the summer of 2023 amid serious interest from Bayern Munich, taking him out for dinner in the centre of Manchester, but this time a parting of the ways is on the cards.
When it was put to Guardiola that City usually let players leave when they want to — admittedly not in the case of Walker 18 months ago — the City boss suggested that the right-back no longer feels able to play at his best in Manchester.
“Maybe I am wrong but still I am pretty convinced that there is not one person in our jobs, whatever job, that doesn’t want to be where they can’t perform or be what they want to be,” Guardiola said.
Walker, then, is ready to call time on his glittering City career this month. AC Milan are in the market for a right-back — they have also been considering former City man Danilo, now at Juventus — and have been made aware of the England international’s availability.
As of Saturday evening, City had not received any bids for Walker, whose contract expires in 2026, and so it is not clear whether any departure would be permanent or a loan.
One subplot to all this is that, if a move to Milan were to happen, it would end their pursuit of Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, as they only have one spot remaining in their squad for a UK player.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the former Milan player who works as an operating partner for owners RedBird Capital Partners and advisor to the club, on Saturday called Rashford a “great player” but said signing him is “a difficult deal” to do.
Walker, the City captain, has had a very difficult season. His loss of form has been alarming and he has been heavily criticised by fans online. Last month he highlighted racist abuse he had been sent on social media, and branded as “unacceptable” an image where he had been mocked up as a terrorist.
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There have not been any obvious signs of dissatisfaction in the stadium on a matchday but given Walker has read messages sent to his inbox and seen other derogatory posts online, some sources around the dressing room — speaking anonymously to protect relationships, like others referenced in this article — felt that situation may have led to his intention to leave sooner rather than later.
The City captain had not started the four matches before the Salford game and when he came off the bench in the previous two, he declined to take the armband when it was offered to him by Kevin De Bruyne. Guardiola’s comments about Walker not feeling he can perform at City suggest this is a very difficult period indeed.
Sources close to Walker say he has always wanted to go abroad, despite a long-mooted return to boyhood club Sheffield United. With interest from Juventus as well as Bayern following City’s treble win in 2023, perhaps the England international feels that, in hindsight given the current situation, it may have been better to go out on the ultimate high.
Back then, he was heading into the final year of his City contract and was concerned he would not get the playing time he wanted. In previous years, City players have seen Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero fall down the pecking order and Walker did not want that to happen to him.
He was also experiencing personal problems and has talked at length about wanting to leave the Premier League to get away from the media coverage.
In the event, he signed a two-year contract extension at the Etihad Stadium and has perhaps played more football than even he could have imagined since then; he remained a key part of the City side throughout last season and Guardiola stuck with him for much of the poor run that closed out 2024, even at a time when the manager acknowledged he was not ready “by far” to play 90 minutes due to injuries.
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Walker still has 18 months left on his current deal but while that means there will be details that need to be ironed out with Milan or any other suitor, City are ready to grant his request and let him leave this month.
There is an appetite within the club to make significant changes to the squad over the next two transfer windows and Walker, Ilkay Gundogan and De Bruyne, for example, could all move on as part of a summer overhaul. But it had appeared City wanted to keep the squad together until the end of the season and add bodies where they could in the winter transfer window.
With Walker keen to go now, however, and with his performances having declined so starkly, it would make little sense to keep him for the next six months, not least because denying him a move to a club like Milan, especially after the Bayern interest, would probably be too big an ask.
It is, unfortunately, time for Walker to go. It is unfortunate because his contributions to City over the years — he has been integral to winning 17 trophies — deserve an exit in better circumstances. It may be easier to look back on those contributions in the summer when the dust has settled on this difficult season, rather than in the middle of it when emotions are still raw.
Although it has been difficult to justify his place in the team given recent form, any exit would pose some headaches for City in terms of squad numbers. Their defence has been beset by injuries all season and losing a player was seemingly not on their agenda.
It is true that City are making big moves in the transfer market, specifically in defence, but Lens’ Abdukodir Khusanov, 20, and Palmeiras’ Vitor Reis, 18, are both rough diamonds. They are highly coveted centre-backs and have the potential to improve the City team over the long haul, but it would be quite an ask to expect them to make a big contribution immediately.
City’s defence has been put under immense scrutiny of late, particularly on the counter-attack, and between January 25 and February 25 they will play Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in consecutive league matches — hardly an enviable bedding-in period for players who have areas to improve in their game.
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City are expected to be active in the transfer market even beyond the potential arrivals of Khusanov, Reis and Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush, so it may be that they find more ready-made solutions elsewhere. There is a lot of business still to do this month.
For Walker, the time will come for his City career to be fully appreciated, but the end itself is likely to come sooner.
(Top photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Sam Lee is the Manchester City correspondent for The Athletic. The 2020-21 campaign will be his sixth following the club, having previously held other positions with Goal and the BBC, and freelancing in South America. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamLee
