AC Milan spark transfer interest in £50 million Manchester City star

Manchester City full-back and England international mainstay defender Kyle Walker is of interest to Italian giants AC Milan, according to reports.

The 32 year-old has seen his game time following the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup somewhat restricted, with Pep Guardiola often utilising a 3-2-4-1 formation that sees his right-back fill in as a defensive midfielder.

As such, the club’s Catalan coach has often deemed Walker as being unable to play such a complex role, and saves the services of the Premier League veteran for matches when Manchester City revert to a flat back-four in and out of possession.

Rico Lewis’ emergence as a mainstay in Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad has further complicated the situation during the second-half of the campaign, especially given the Academy graduate’s ability to play as an inverted full-back.

That restriction of game time for Kyle Walker, combined with his favourable contractual situation from the viewpoint of potential suitors, has awoken interest from a number of European giants, including a club from Italy.

According to the information of The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, AC Milan now hold an interest in Kyle Walker after the England international has lost his place as a mainstay in Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City starting line-ups.

It is claimed that the Champions League semi-finalists are looking at Walker as an option to add competition for Davide Calabria at right-back, while adding to the pace they have from Theo Hernández at full-back on the other flank.

Given Walker’s exemplary fitness levels despite his age in the game, he is expected to not be short of potential options should Manchester City make him available across the course of the coming months and into next season.

An additional report from The Sun’s Martin Blackburn states that so far, there has been no indication that Kyle Walker is likely to be offered another deal at Manchester City, with his existing contract set to expire at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

Milan however, could even be tempted into making their move this summer given the potential for a cut-price deal due to the player’s Etihad Stadium contractual situation.

So far this season, Kyle Walker has featured a total of 27 times under Pep Guardiola, with 21 of those appearances being starting roles in Manchester City’s initial eleven in contests.

Across those appearances, Walker has provided just a single assist, while his main competition for the role in John Stones has made two fewer appearances but scored two goals and provided three assists.

Rico Lewis’ development in Manchester City’s first-team squad across the course of the coming months is only set to further challenge Walker’s abilities, and may sway the defender towards exploring his options away from the Etihad Stadium after a six-year stay with the club.