Kyle Walker has completed a move to AC Milan on loan from Manchester City.
He spent eight seasons with Manchester City, raking up 319 matches for them. He also won a UEFA Champions League and six Premier League titles with City, making him one of the most successful full-backs in England in recent times.
Prior to coming to Manchester City, Walker had spent eight seasons at Tottenham Hotspur. He has played in more than 600 matches in the Premier League.
At 34, Walker is now ready to embark on a new journey in Italy with AC Milan, already having made an impressive debut against Inter Milan.
Kyle Walker’s Significant Contribution towards Manchester City’s Success
Walker has been one of the stalwarts for the Cityzens under Pep Guardiola.
His speed and strength made him stand out among all the right-backs in the Premier League in his era. Walker’s crossing ability also helped Manchester City a good deal.
However, as time progressed, Walker had to adjust his playing role as per the team’s demands.
He started playing as a right-back for the City, but had to play as the right-sided centre-back in a back-three more often during the latter stages of his stint with the club.
As one of the full-backs like Josko Gvardiol, Rico Lewis, John Stones and Manuel Akanji moved in to play as a defensive midfielder, Manchester City’s formation often became a 3-4-2-1 from a 4-2-3-1 while in possession.
As a result of that, Walker became the right-sided centre-back, which gave him more defensive responsibility.
The Cityzens have remained vulnerable to counter-attacks of late and Walker has had to bear the brunt of the counter-attacks by their opposition through the right side of their defence.
He lost his place in the starting XI to a much younger Rico Lewis eventually, which virtually signalled that it was time for him to leave the club.
Walker has been one of the players held responsible for the club’s poor form this season.
However, Walker in his pomp was a beast of player, a total physical specimen, who has enjoyed some monumental clashes with opposition left-wingers like Sadio Mane, Vinicius Junior and Luis Diaz.
He made Manchester City’s defence solid and also contributed with his overlaps frequently against smaller teams when his team adopted a very adventurous 2-3-5 or 2-2-6 formation to break open resolute defences.
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The Journey with Milan Might Not Be Easy for Him
AC Milan are in the eighth position in the Serie A table at the moment and are five points behind fourth-placed Juventus.
The title is all but gone for them, and qualifying for the Champions League next season is not going to be easy either.
However, Milan have qualified for the next round in the Champions League this season and it will give Walker a chance to play continental football.
His experience can still prove to be very valuable for Milan in their bid to finish inside the top four. He performed well in a crucial match for Milan against Inter which ended 1-1.
Hopefully, Walker will maintain that form, and make his mark for the Rossoneri during his loan spell.
The Manchester City supporters will be wishing him all the luck for the remainder of the season and will have fond memories associated with him.