At Manchester City, where he helped lead the team to trophy after trophy in six successful years, Kyle Walker spent a large portion of his career’s pinnacle. These years appear to be coming to an end as Bayern Munich in Germany is being linked to signing the Englishman.
Walker initially resisted moving away from Manchester because he believed his family would object. With rumors that Benjamin Pavard is interested in the triple winners, if the deal were to go through, it might just cause this season to see yet another domino effect.
It follows two significant midfield exits, including Riyad Mahrez’s possible departure from the starting lineup and the moves of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva to Barcelona. To address this issue, Mateo Kovacic has already moved to the centre of the field, and Josko Gvardiol has been added as insurance against potential center-back problems.
Given that Joao Cancelo is returning from a loan with Bayern Munich, the fact that City are already linked with Pavard may be a sign that they are not confident in his ability to feature this season. The backup position would go to 18-year-old Rico Lewis if Cancelo were to be given the go-ahead, and it is not difficult to picture them both easily providing City with what they require.
Walker’s career is coming to an end at age 33, and with only one year left on his contract, Manchester City may have the best opportunity to let him go like they did with Mahrez, who also has one year left on his deal.
Almost no one in world football can equal Walker’s pace, and even Kylian Mbappe has been stopped by Walker in the World Cup and Champions League. There is no doubt that Pep Guardiola would miss Walker. Walker no longer needs to bail them out of difficulty defensively because Guardiola has discovered a method to play confidently on the front foot during the past couple of seasons.
For instance, he only entered the game for the final 10 seconds of the Champions League final because they were able to play the ideal combination of aggressive football and defensive stability by playing three at the back with two holding midfielders.
It does make the connection between City and Pavard a little unclear. Why would they spend the money on a typical right back if Guardiola does not plan to use one in the majority of games next season?
Kyle Walker has been excellent for City, so they don’t need to find a replacement. If they choose to stay, Joao Cancelo and Rico Lewis will be able to split this responsibility for the smaller roles they would play.
For a team that was so successful last season, the transfer market is starting to get very busy, but there’s no reason for them to get busier still by spending millions on a player they hardly need.