Manchester City defender Kyle Walker was recently left out of Lee Carsley’s first England squad – and he has now broken his silence over the decision.
Walker returned to City late ahead of 2024/25 after featuring heavily for England at Euro 2024.
He has yet to feature so far this season, with Rico Lewis shining in his place. Lewis played brilliantly in pre-season and against Manchester United in the Community Shield, and his fine form has continued since.
Walker has therefore had to contend with a place on the bench.
As a result of Walker’s lack of involvement so far, new England interim manager Lee Carsley decided not to include the Manchester City veteran in his first squad – and Walker has now shared his thoughts about the decision.
Man City captain Kyle Walker admits he’s ‘disappointed’ after England snub
Walker’s recent omission came as a slight surprise.
He had been a regular under Gareth Southgate, and Walker may actually have been hoping for minutes with the national team as a result of not getting any minutes with City so far this term.
But that has actually counted against him, with Carsley not calling him up for the games against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
Walker has now broken his silence about missing out on Carsley’s first squad. He admits his disappointment, but can also see why the decision was made.
He said (as quoted by The Sun): “I’m disappointed. You accept it and just try to prove them wrong.
“With a new manager, you are always expecting a few changes. I’m disappointed because to represent your country is always the highest thing.
“But I haven’t played any minutes this season so you have to take it on the chin. I’ve not performed at any level since coming back from the Euros, so I think it’s the right call from him.
“I just need to make sure that I’m proving him wrong in the near future.”
Work to do for Walker
Walker will undoubtedly have taken Carsley’s snub hard because he loves to play for his country and is obviously closing in on 100 caps for the Three Lions.
The £175,000-a-week man has said it himself: ‘To represent your country is always the highest thing’, so it’s a bit of a wake-up call for Walker.
He can take heart from the fact that his omission hasn’t necessarily boiled down to him playing badly. Of course, he has not taken to the field yet this season because Lewis has been so good.
His chance will come for City, and it’s important for him that he takes it when he does.
Because Lewis is on an exciting trajectory right now and there is potential for his rise to really affect Walker this term, both with club and country.
