Pep Guardiola’s honesty about Kyle Walker’s future at Manchester City could end up costing his club in the January transfer window.
Walker is keen to leave City this month, having won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, a Champions League and four EFL Cups since joining the club from Tottenham in 2017. The 34-year-old is keen to explore opportunities at a different major European club and has been strongly linked with AC Milan.
The veteran defender reportedly doesn’t want to move to Saudi Arabia, but his chances of securing the transfer he wants in the next few weeks may have been undermined by his manager. Guardiola spoke in glowing terms of Walker, yet his openness about the situation could be counter-productive.
The Daily Mail reports that, by leaving Walker out of his squads and suggesting he doesn’t have a future at City, Guardiola has weakened the club’s negotiating position. “It's not easy for me to say but Kyle is not here because two days ago he asked to explore the option to play abroad,” Guardiola said after the win over Salford in the FA Cup last weekend.
“Kyle went to [director of football] Txiki Begiristain. Maybe I am wrong but I am pretty convinced that you should keep no-one who doesn't want to be here. Kyle asked to explore. It doesn't mean it's going to happen, you never know.”
Guardiola has tried to row back on his original comments since, by not ruling out Walker coming back into the side. But it seems that the damage may have already been done when it comes to extracting the highest transfer fee for his services.
“The situation is different now, but the transfer window will finish when it finishes and I don't know what's going to happen,” Guardiola said this week. “I said to Kyle now it's a question of the market. He is an incredible player, with incredible physicality and when he's focused he's unstoppable as a right-back.
“He's a top-class player. If he's fit he can play for one, two, three or four more years as a professional. I've never seen a player with these physical conditions in my career.
“If he wants to explore a move away, the club is going to explore, and he has to decide, not me. It's not my decision. But he has to have an agreement with the club.”
Walker believes he has another two years of playing at a top level in him and therefore isn’t ready to move to Saudi Arabia yet, with one eye on getting seven more appearances to reach the 100-cap mark for England. Sky Sports Italia report that Milan want to sign Walker on an initial loan deal until the end of the season before making it permanent.