Manchester City have many players who know what it takes to play on the international stage.
One of the more experienced players City have in their squad who knows all about what it takes to represent his country is Kyle Walker.
At the age of 34, the right-back has made 310 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side and 90 for the senior England national team.
With the Three Lions set to see Thomas Tuchel take charge in January, a new era is set to begin for England.
Now – however – a fellow international teammate, who Walker is very familiar with in terms of playing with and against him, has named the City captain as part of a big demand for what the England squad needs to look like in their new era.
Harry Kane delivers Kyle Walker demand for new England era
Speaking in a press conference ahead of Sunday’s Nations League match between England and Ireland, Harry Kane named Walker when asked about the culture in the Three Lions camp.
He said: “Whoever is in the squad is the most important thing and players have had a great opportunity this week. There will always be players injured, in and out, and a big part of international football is players coming in and making a difference.
“It’s down to me, Kyle Walker, Jordan Pickford and the other ones to build a culture. We don’t want to lose that as more young players come into the squad. We want to build that up to the 2026 summer.
“It takes a long time to build and maybe not so long to lose but we’re well aware of that. We’ve had some really good tournaments and we want to share those experiences and step by step we’ll help the lads understand what we’re going to be going into.”
Walker should have the same responsibilities at City
Given the uncertainty surrounding Guardiola’s future and the fact that Hugo Viana will be replacing Txiki Begiristain as the club’s sporting director, a new era at City could be on the horizon.
Therefore, as the club’s captain and one of the most senior figures in the squad, Walker should have the same responsibilities about creating and maintaining the right sort of culture at City as Kane has urged him to keep in mind with England.
Last weekend’s defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion saw Walker make a demand about what he wants to see from his City teammates moving forward, saying this on the matter.
He said: “This is the time where I want to see the players and real characters come through.
“It’s all good for the last eight years when we’ve been winning and dominating games. But now it’s tough, this is the time where us as the senior members have to pull the players through who haven’t been here for a while and show them the foundations of this club.
“We’ve built those foundations over the last eight years and that will get us through this patch.
“It’s football and with the players and manager we have, with the club the fans, it will pass.
“We need to weather the storm and make sure after the international break we come back fit and ready to go for an important part of the season.
“There will be light at the end of the tunnel and I feel this isn’t going to win us the Premier League this period, and it’s not going to lose us the Premier League.”
These comments give an insight into how Walker has what it takes to make sure the culture of his club and country is how it needs to be.
