Kyle Walker ‘has a high chance of leaving Man City and is hugely disappointed at being dropped for the Champions League final- with Sheffield United keen on him’
Man City defender Kyle Walker ‘could leave the club this summer’ after being dropped for the Champions League final.
The defender admitted being ‘disappointed’ after he was left out for the clash with Inter Milan, which City won 1-0 to complete their treble.
He told his teammates ‘my dream is now in your hands’, but was on the pitch for the final whistle as an 82nd minute substitute for John Stones.
Manuel Akanji’s impressive performances this season and a change of system at the Etihad have meant Walker, now 33, is not the shoe-in he once was.
His omission from the starting line-up in Istanbul would have been especially hard to take given the defender played in Man City’s only previous UCL final, a 1-0 loss to Chelsea in 2021.
Club stalwart Kyle Walker was left out of Manchester City’s starting line-up against Inter Milan in the Champions League final – and could now be on his way out of the Etihad this summer
He admitted being ‘disappointed’ after City’s 1-0 win confirmed their third trophy of the season
The lack of play time appears to be driving the fullback away from City, with The Athletic claiming that ‘the time may have come’ for a transfer.
Walker’s omission from the UCL final starting XI was reportedly a ‘huge disappointment’, that has left him eyeing a ‘move abroad’ this summer.
Walker’s hometown club Sheffield United, where he began his career before moving to Tottenham in 2009, are interested in pursuing a deal for the England star, according to talkSPORT.
The Blades won promotion to the Premier League after a fruitful campaign in the second tier and will kick off the new season at home to Crystal Palace.
If Walker does leave, it will end a remarkably successful six-year spell at City for the England international.
Since arriving from Tottenham in 2016, he has won 12 trophies, including five Premier Leagues and the UCL, in 254 games.
Newly-promoted Sheffield United reportedly want to sign the defender in the summer window
Pep Guardiola’s side have been less reliant on Walker, who is now 33, than they had been in previous years, but the defender still played an integral part in City’s Treble-winning campaign
Reflecting on what could be his final trophy in Istanbul, the defender said: ‘We couldn’t work as hard as we did all season to throw it away.
‘The lads dug deep. I got a silver medal last time, so to have a gold one is fantastic.
‘I am living the dream. My mum and dad were in the stands. Where I come from in Sheffield it’s not easy for them to be here. I remember when mum didn’t have a pound for the ice cream van. I am so thankful.
‘I am over the moon and very rarely speechless but my dream has just come true. To achieve this with this club, after everything they have done for all of us over the years, to win the Treble is unbelievable.’
