Pep Guardiolathe Manchester City manager, said he would not stand in the way To Kyle Walker if the English international decides to leave the club during the January transfer window.
Walker was not in the lineup City in a convincing 8:0 victory against Salford in the third round of the FA Cup, despite being Guardiola had only two defensive players in the starting line-up.
The 34-year-old defender still has 18 months left on his contract with the club, but according to Guardiola’s words, Walker spoke with the director on Thursday By Txiki Begiristain about possible departure.
“Two days ago Kyle asked to explore options for playing abroad,” Guardiola said.
“We can’t imagine what the club would be like without Kyle all these years. That is impossible. He was our right back who brought us what we didn’t have. But now, for various reasons, he wants to explore the possibility of playing in another country in his last years”.
When asked if he would Walker get permission to leave if he wants to, Guardiola replied:
“Of course. But that doesn’t mean it will happen because you never know the situation. But I’m pretty sure there’s no one in this business who doesn’t want to be here and be able to give their best.”
Guardiola added that Walker first expressed his desire to leave after winning the historic treble in 2023. That’s when it is Bayern Munich showed an interest in Walker but did not offer the amount City demanded.
This time there probably won’t be any such problems because Guardiola has already started refreshing the team that is struggling in the first half of the season. Walker is likely to leave Saudi Arabia although interest is shown by greats like AC Milan.
City have already agreed a £33.6m transfer with the French Lens for the Uzbek defender Abdukodira Khusanova who will be the first player from Uzbekistan in Premier league.
They are also negotiating with the Brazilian Palmeiras around the young defender Vitor Reis and complete the arrival of the attackers Eintracht Frankfurt Omar Marmousha.
(www.jabuka.tv | Photo: UEFA Champions League)
