Kyle Walker is considering leaving Manchester City for Bayern Munich, but Pep Guardiola has vowed to keep up the pressure.
Following the defections of Riyad Mahrez and captain Ilkay Gundogan in the six weeks following City’s triple, Guardiola is desperate to keep the England full-back away from his former team. Despite German media claims that a deal to snag the 33-year-old away from the Etihad and sign him for the Bundesliga champions, Walker will play for City against Bayern tomorrow, according to Guardiola.
Kyle is tremendously crucial for us, according to Guardiola. He possesses distinctive qualities that are rare. I have no idea what will occur. Although we will compete for him, both clubs are in contact. Our player is still Kyle. Our finest players must compete against Bayern, and we are hopeful that he will remain with us throughout the entire campaign. Why not let him play?
Walker has been given a two-year contract extension by City on a deal that still has one year left, but Bayern thinks he wants to take on a fresh challenge abroad. Leroy Sane sustained a season-ending knee injury four years ago when Guardiola started him against Liverpool in the Community Shield as Bayern launched a charm attack for the German winger.
A year later, Sane committed to Bayern for a bargain £51.5 million. Walker’s departure would force Guardiola to rely on Joao Cancelo, the Portuguese defender who was loaned to Bayern in January after becoming a disruptive influence in the dressing room, and Bernardo Silva is pushing for a move, so Guardiola is desperate to retain Walker in the fold.
Thomas Tuchel, the manager of Bayern Munich, said that his team turned down the opportunity to make Cancelo’s transfer permanent for £61 million because it was too pricey. “It was never for football motives,” he claimed. He (Cancelo) excels on the football pitch. It was only that we opted to sign Rapha Guerrero as a free agent after getting Alphonso Davies back from injury and at full strength.
Therefore, it was an issue of both status and finances. In the six months, he played for us, he was helpful to us. He (Cancelo) is a great person and a great football player. Thus, I say. There are several urgent problems for Guardiola to address. Following Fernandinho’s return to Brazil last year, he is now looking for a new captain for the second summer in a row as a result of Gundogan’s departure.
The City players will vote on the German’s replacement, and Guardiola acknowledged that because of the ambiguity around his team, the election will have to be held after the transfer market has closed. I’ll talk to the captains, and they’ll let me know when,” he said. It will take place when we return to Manchester, possibly on March 31 when the team is set.
Following the departure of Rodolfo Morrell to take the position of sports director at MLS club Austin and the appointment of Enzo Maresca as manager of Leicester, the Blues manager is also seeking a new assistant. At the close of the previous campaign, Guardiola’s former right-hand man Juan Manuel Lillo visited Manchester to offer advice, and the 57-year-old is the Catalan’s top pick to do so. Despite Guardiola’s suggestion that Lillo’s return to Manchester would cost City a compensation package, Lillo recently announced his resignation as manager of Qatari club Al Sadd due to personal reasons.
I don’t know what happened to my assistants, he continued. Every time I look after them, they abandon me. But I do want to thank Rodo and Enzo for these wonderful years spent together. On target to be ready to play against Burnley on the first day of the Premier League season, Kevin De Bruyne put in a little bit of light work during training at Japan’s National Stadium.