AC Milan pounced to sign England international right-back Kyle Walker on loan from Manchester City in January after he told Pep Guardiola he wanted to pursue a new challenge
Kyle Walker has indicated that he is open to a return to Manchester City this summer following his loan spell with AC Milan. The Italian giants, who have a £4.2million option to sign the England international permanently at the end of the season, pounced to land the 34-year-old right-back in January after he told Pep Guardiola that he wanted to pursue a new challenge. While Walker has been a prominent figure in Sergio Conceicao’s side since making the switch to San Siro, AC Milan are still in two minds as to whether they’ll trigger that clause. Now, speaking on the second season of The Kyle Walker Podcast, Walker acknowledged he could head back to the Etihad this summer with his future currently up in the air.
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He said: “After I said my goodbyes, Pep got up and spoke and said a really nice message to me, just saying thank you for everything. But, listen, it’s not over. I’m just on loan here. I’ve got to take that into consideration that I can go back. Obviously, both parties need to come to an agreement come the end of the season and listen, the chapter’s not fully closed, but we’ll see what happens.” AC Milan did not pay a loan fee for Walker but if they sign him on a permanent basis, his contract which will run until the summer of 2027, would make him one of the highest-paid members of their squad. It’s understood he would earn in excess of £3.77m net per season in Serie A and Milan chiefs have doubts over whether they want to pay that kind of money for a player that is evidently past his best. The Rosseneri are yet to commit to a decision and will instead take their time to assess their options. If Milan were to trigger their buy-option, City would also be entitled to a small percentage of future profit, thanks to a sell-on clause.
But if alternatively, Walker was to return to City, he would have just one year remaining on his contract at the end of the season. The Three Lions defender returned to the international fold during the break when he was named in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad. He’s now on 95 caps and is targeting a century of appearances for his country. He added on his England future having previously considered international retirement: “The only other black player to get 100 caps is Ashley Cole, you know? Deservedly. So, if I can be the second black player to reach 100 caps…You look at the likes of Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand…these players that never actually got to 100 caps, if I can go and do that, it’d be a great honour for myself. “And that was, you know, a big relief when [Thomas Tuchel] gave me the call and we spoke. I even spoke about the move to AC Milan with him and said, ‘I want to stay in Europe because I do want to represent my country still and get to a hundred caps.’ I just want to be able to say that I’ve represented my country 100 times.”
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