As Manchester City gear up to face Southampton on Saturday, Pep Guardiola has said Kyle Walker cannot play as an inverted right-back.
The £53 million (Guardian) man has looked uncomfortable in the defined role at times this season, most notably in City’s 3-3 thriller against Newcastle United.
Ahead of his side’s upcoming clash against Southampton, Pep Guardiola has made the claim that Kyle Walker is not the right fit as an inverted right-back.
Pep Guardiola makes Kyle Walker claim ahead of Southampton clash
Since joining the Sky Blues in 2017, the 32-year-old has adapted his game incredibly well, going from the most attacking right-back in the Premier League to arguably the most reliable defensive full-back in Europe, as Kalvin Phillips implied when he was set to face Kylian Mbappe in the World Cup quarter-final.
Technically as well, Walker reached unseen levels under the guidance of the Catalan manager.
But even to this day, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola told the press that Kyle Walker cannot play as an inverted right-back ahead of his side’s contest against Southampton.
“No. He cannot do it. This shape with three at the back and two in the middle, he cannot do it. It’s a question of skills. The quality of needing some specific things. It’s like asking, I don’t know, Riyad Mahrez to play as a full-back. He cannot”, he said on the BeanymanSports YouTube channel.
“He can play coming inside. He has done it many times, Kyle can do it. But in the position, like against Liverpool, Rodri and there [another player], he will maybe need time to do it and we don’t have time.”
Walker may be inclined to disagree
Considering Manchester City tactician Pep Guardiola himself went on to backtrack about his claim about Kyle Walker while previewing his team’s battle against Southampton, the player himself is likely to disagree.
For a majority of his time at the Etihad Stadium, the four-time Premier League winner has played in the role and that too, excellently.
But then again, Walker’s technical inferiority in comparison to his teammates may have prompted Guardiola to say so in his precise system, which is completely fair.
