Aston Villa are keen on signing Kyle Walker next season, as the right-back may find himself out of favour at Manchester City.
Aston Villa are already planning for next season with the possibility of making it into Europe. According to 90min, they want to bring experienced Manchester City star Kyle Walker to the club, with Unai Emery keen to add some quality in several positions, including right back.
Aston Villa are not flush with top-quality players, with Unai Emery identifying several positions for reinforcements next summer. The Spaniard has steered the club, once a relegation-threatened side, to European hopefuls in a matter of months.
He recently mentioned changing his mind on ageing players and referenced Ashley Young, who, at 37, continues to play at the highest levels regularly. And days later, Aston Villa are incidentally linked with a move for Kyle Walker.
Walker has been a success since coming to Manchester City from Tottenham. But the last few months have changed his equation at the club. Pep Guardiola has seemingly changed the way of his right back position, preferring to use a player to invert.
Guardiola recently said about Walker and the new role, “He cannot do it. He will always have pace; Kyle, at 60 years old, will be the fastest player in this room. To play inside, you have to have educated movements – he doesn’t have every one of the characteristics,” Guardiola admitted.
“He has played as a full-back coming inside in the past with four at the back. He has done really well but this shape of three at the back and two in the middle, he cannot do it.”
It is hard to think Walker will play regularly this season, although he becomes a natural option to see out games at the latter stages. Hence, one can only speculate about his future, especially as he enters the final year of his contract at Manchester City.
The four-time Premier League winner is not the only Manchester City star on Villa’s radar, with Kalvin Phillips also a reported target. With the right back, they could sense an opportunity here and bring Walker to their club. There might be an odd question about his wages, but he might prioritise playing regularly over money at this stage of his career.
Emery has identified the right-back slot as problematic, considering he may not rate Matty Cash to become a regular. He has deployed Young in that role quite frequently and may end up liking the idea of Walker. Villa are already looking to add defensive reinforcements in the summer.
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The report also states that Guardiola could urge the club to keep Walker and let him see out his deal here. In the end, the decision will remain with the four-time Premier League winner on whether to remain or move on to a club where he plays regularly.
