AC Milan issue five-word statement confirming Manchester City transfer | OneFootball

Manchester City supporters have received firm confirmation over the return of Kyle Walker to the club following his six-month loan in Italian football.

The Englishman brought an abrupt end to his consistent stay at the Etihad Stadium during the last January transfer window amid a difficult campaign on both a personal and collective note with Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Having informed club officials of his firm desire to seek out a fresh challenge at the top of the game, Txiki Begiristain and Walker’s representatives scoured the market and weighed up his best options with talk of interest from both the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Ultimately it was a move to the Italian top-flight that appealed most to the veteran defender, swayed by the work put in by Zlatan Ibrahimovic to lure him to the San Siro and penning a six-month loan deal with AC Milan.

But a challenging stay with the iconic Italian club including a fractured elbow injury led decision makers at San Siro to rejecting the possibility of making the loan deal for Walker a permanent one ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

Issuing a five-word statement on social media, AC Milan confirmed the exit of Kyle Walker following their short-term loan in the Italian top-flight from Manchester City during the second-half of last season.

“It’s been a pleasure, Kyle”, the Serie A giants stated on various platforms, indicating that they would not be activating the buy-option clause within the England international’s contractual agreement on loan.

There continues to be plenty of uncertainty over where Kyle Walker could next play his football, with an understanding in some quarters that the Premier League could come calling for his signature in the coming weeks.

Among the names most recently linked with an interest are Everton, although officials on Merseyside appear to have switched their attentions to slightly younger options and certainly those who could command lesser salary expectations.

For now, Walker is believed to have reunited with the Manchester City camp over in the United States despite not being eligible to feature at all in the competition, with Pep Guardiola admitting his delight at seeing his former club captain.