Kyle Walker ‘to reject interest from AC Milan to see out the final 12 months of his Man City deal’

Kyle Walker is reportedly set to reject interest from abroad to stay with Manchester City for the final 12 months of his contract.

The 32-year-old joined City in 2017 and has been a key part of four Premier League title-winning sides, though he has seen his minutes drop considerably this season.

With Pep Guardiola having openly admitted that Walker cannot perform the inverted full-back role that he so desires from either his right-back or left-back, his future at City has become increasingly uncertain.

According to The Sun, however, he is set to snub interest from abroad to remain with City until the end of his current deal, which is set to expire next summer.

On a reported £160,000-a-week, Walker has been linked with AC Milan in recent weeks.

The right back has not enjoyed his best season in a City shirt but has performed well in recent weeks

It is claimed that despite the interest of the seven-time champions of Europe, Walker will not push for a move away from City and remains content at the club.

His reported desire to stay opens up the possibility of him seeing out the final knockings of his professional career with boyhood club Sheffield United.

Making no secret of his desire to appear for the Blades before he hangs up his boots, Walker seemingly has his eyes set on a move back to the Steel City when his time with City is up. 

Despite having lost his place to Rico Lewis and John Stones at various intervals this season, Walker has reaffirmed his claim in recent weeks to being Guardiola’s first choice right-back.

Such are the plethora of options at Guardiola’s disposal, however, it is unclear from game to game which exact side he will select.

For a number of weeks it appeared as though Walker had lost his claim for a starting place altogether, with the Catalan settling on a shape that required the right-sided full-back to invert into midfield in possession. 

Guardiola himself had gone on the record to state Walker could not perform the role Stones was excelling in, though his recent performances, notably up against danger-men Gabriel Martinelli for Arsenal and Vinicius Junior for Real Madrid, have earned him plaudits.

‘I have struggled sometimes when things are not going your way outside of football or a bit of bad form,’ he revealed recently. 

His reported rejection of European interest opens the door to a potential Sheffield United swansong

‘I always think go back to the basics – what got you to your happy place. Things are out of your control sometimes,’ Walker added. ‘Every one of us down there thinks they should be playing. 

‘It’s how you react. I’m the worst, I hate not playing. But with my experience and age I think, “OK I’ll park the manager to one side and be here for the team”.

‘And I’ll make sure the lads have my backing. Whether that’s me shouting in the dressing room beforehand, or like the last game of last season against Aston Villa 

‘I was the one shouting and running up the touchline as it meant something to me.

‘I needed to do what I can as one of the captains to make sure the other guys got the victory we needed.’