Manchester City man ‘in the frame’ to become England captain for Brazil showdown

Pep Guardiola could see his Manchester City captain Kyle Walker named as England captain for their international friendly against Brazil on Saturday evening.

A large portion of Manchester City’s first-team squad are currently on a break from their relentless club duties this season, before they return to take on Arsenal in the hectic Premier League fixture schedule on the final day of March.

As international set-ups finalise their plans and preparations for the upcoming European Championships in particular this summer, England amongst many other sides are embarking on two friendly fixtures during the final international break of the season.

For Gareth Southgate and his players, that means a contest against Brazil and later Belgium over the next few days. However, the absence of Harry Kane through injury has meant there remains a question mark over the England captaincy this weekend.

According to the information of The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, Manchester City mainstay full-back and club captain Kyle Walker is ‘in the frame’ to be named as the England international captain for their friendly against Brazil this weekend.

Walker was voted in as the new permanent club captain by his fellow Manchester City teammates last summer, following the exit of Treble-winning leader Ilkay Gundogan for La Liga giants FC Barcelona on a free transfer.

Kevin De Bruyne is understood to be the club’s vice-captain, while Ruben Dias, Rodri, and Bernardo Silva make up the remainder of a five-man leadership group hopeful of yet more silverware success this season.

Manchester City remain in contention to retain their historic Treble of last season, with an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea and a UEFA Champions League quarter-final double-header against Real Madrid all on the horizon throughout April.