Manchester City make final decision on Kyle Walker future amid possibility of return from AC Milan | OneFootball

Officials at Manchester City have come to a conclusion over what the future would hold for Kyle Walker in the event of AC Milan not purchasing the full-back this summer.

The veteran full-back brought a shock end to his time at the Etihad Stadium in the middle of the ongoing season by requesting an assessment of options available to him during the January transfer window.

Despite strong interest from Saudi Arabia, Walker himself felt he could still perform at the highest level in European competition, and as such took on the challenge of moving to Italian football on loan with AC Milan until the end of the campaign.

However, the agreement did not include an obligation to purchase the 34-year-old at the end of the loan, and as such the decision will be left in the hands of the San Siro side as to whether they wish to take on his services full-time for a fee in the region of €5 million.

That possibility has been thrown into doubt by a fractured elbow that forced Walker to undergo surgery – as confirmed by the Italian side – and in light of that, an update has surfaced surrounding what the future could hold for the player in the event of a return to Manchester.

According to the information of Fabrizio Romano, should AC Milan not choose to turn their loan deal for Walker into a permanent agreement via a purchase option this summer, the 34-year-old will still not be in Pep Guardiola’s plans for next season onwards.

It is explained that full-back is a position that Manchester City officials are looking to secure cover for in the summer window, having identified the position as an area for investment back in January.

However, despite the vast investment in multiple areas of the squad, the report points out that City bosses failed to find the right ‘financial or technical opportunity’ to suit their requirements at the time.

A full-time exit for Kyle Walker from the Etihad Stadium is expected to bring Manchester City to the negotiating table for a new full-back, with several options on the card either through the addition of a new left-sided player or a name to operate on the right.

This season has seen Guardiola depend on Josko Gvardiol and Nico O’Reilly at left-back, with Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis as the predominant names on the right, largely as a result of injury problems maintained by Manuel Akanji, John Stones, and Nathan Ake.

Among the names that could be considered by the club to bring in through the transfer market are Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso and Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie, although the latter would be complicated by a notoriously complex negotiating stance taken on by Daniel Levy.