AC Milan are “confident” of signing Kyle Walker after the England defender told Manchester City he wants to go.
Walker, who has 18 months left on his City contrlact, was noticeably absent from the team that faced Salford on Saturday. Following their dramatic 8-0 FA Cup victory, manager Pep Guardiola revealed that Walker had approached the club’s director of football, Txiki Begiristain, to request a transfer to a foreign team.
“It’s not easy for me to say because I should tell him but he’s not here so two days ago Kyle asked to explore the options to play abroad at the end of his career,” Guardiola recalled. “He’s been our right-back, providing us something we didn’t have, but he’s now considering going to another nation to play his last years for a variety of reasons.
As a result, I like to play other players who are mentally present. He traveled to Txiki. He offered to explore, but it doesn’t mean it would happen because you never know the situation.
The city appears to be preparing for a future without Walker. The club recently agreed to a £33.6 million ($41 million) deal with Lens for Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov, indicating a desire to revamp their defensive lineup. City are also in talks with Brazilian centre back Vitor Reis.
Rico Lewis has already emerged as a credible right-back alternative for Guardiola, having been chosen ahead of Walker on multiple occasions this season.
Walker’s departure, meanwhile, would leave City with little depth at the position, potentially driving more transfer action.
Walker has sparked attention from teams other than Milan, notably Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. According to reports, if Walker joins Al-Nassr, he might make a hefty £400,000 per week.
However, earlier Saudi interest had failed to materialize, and Milan’s desire to capture Walker might speed up negotiations with City.