Identity of permanent new Manchester City club captain to remain secret

Kyle Walker has refused to reveal the identity of Manchester City’s new club captain, despite announcing a newly-elected leadership group on Monday.

The 33-year-old wore the armband for Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League group stages on Tuesday evening, having also notably captained the Sky Blues at the FA Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup last month.

Walker, who recently signed a new two-year contract extension after opting against a summer move to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, is one of five Manchester City players to be elected into the first-team ‘leadership group’ for the 2023/24 campaign.

The Englishman, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Bernardo Silva were revealed as the members for the newly-formed leadership team, following the departure of former club captain Ilkay Gundogan during the summer transfer window.

Gundogan, who led Manchester City to a famous treble, moved to Barcelona on a free transfer, vacating the captain’s armband after just one season at the Etihad Stadium.

Vincent Kompany, Fernandinho and David Silva have all previously held the club captaincy role under Pep Guardiola’s management, however the identity of the new full-time skipper will remain a secret, according to Walker.

“There is a captain but I just feel out of respect to everyone that’s involved in it, there’s no numbers,” the right-back told BBC Sport.

“We’re a team and we [the leadership group] are a team inside a team, and whoever wears the armband or has the armband on the day, is going to wear the armband until the time is right, until certain members in that captaincy group feel it’s right to announce the number or the order.

“That’s what we’ll do but, until then, I’m wearing the armband because I was the third captain last season and I’ll continue to wear it for the rest of the season until the time’s right.

“I don’t even think it’s really necessary. We’re a team inside a team.”

Kevin De Bruyne, who is sidelined until the new year with a hamstring injury, has previously hinted at a willingness to become Manchester City captain.

The Belgium international is also the longest-serving member of the Blues’ squad, having moved to the Etihad Stadium in 2015, prior to the arrival of Pep Guardiola.