Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly set to demand £50 million from Manchester City to let go of Kyle Walker in the summer.
According to a report in The Sun, Manchester City have been told to shell out £50 million in order to secure the services of Kyle Walker from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window.
Walker has blossomed into one of the most complete full-backs in the Premier League in the last three seasons. For the longest time the Englishman was a right-back who was exciting and dangerous going forward but often failed to measure up in his defensive duties.
The arrival of Mauricio Pochettino at the helm at Tottenham, though, has seen Walker improve significantly as he has turned into a solid defender in addition to being a menacing presence in the final third.
The 26-year-old has played 30 games in the Premier League this season and has been a mainstay on the right side of the Tottenham defence for large parts of the campaign. However, Walker has had to share game time with Kieran Tripper in recent weeks, who was also preferred for the FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea.
That is something that has reportedly not gone down well with Walker, and he has expressed his desire to leave Tottenham after holding showdown talks with Pochettino last week. If he indeed ends up moving in the summer, there is unlikely to be a shortage of suitors vying for his signature.
In fact, the likes of Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona have all been linked with Walker, with Manchester City reported to be leading the race to sign him in the summer.
Defence has been a major area of concern for Pep Guardiola and City’s vulnerability at the back has often been pinned as the prime reason for their failure to mount a challenge for the Premier League title.
In particular, both the full-back positions have been the problem areas for the Man City boss and it is believed that he is scouting for viable options for both sides of defence, with Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov all on the wrong side on 30.
In fact, Jesus Navas and Fernandinho have also been tried as makeshift right-backs in recent weeks, but to little success. Thus, Walker has been identified as a top target for the right side of defence, as a player who can not only be an upgrade on Guardiola’s current options but also provide a long-term solution at the back.
But he will not come cheap as Tottenham have slapped a £50 million price tag on Walker, as per the report. However, with Guardiola willing to break the bank to land a top right-back in the summer, City are unwilling to be deterred by that valuation.
It now remains to be seen if Manchester City can indeed succeed in their pursuit of Walker, with a world record equalling fee set to be demanded for his services.