Ilkay Gundogan has said that Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker would have been the ‘perfect’ signing for Bayern Munich.
In an interview with Sport Bild, the Barcelona maestro gave his two cents on the £50 million (Sky Sports) man closing in on a move to Thomas Tuchel’s side at one point.
While Kyle Walker decided to stay put at Manchester City, Ilkay Gundogan believes he would have been a cracking signing for Bayern Munich.
Ilkay Gundogan says Kyle Walker was the ‘perfect fit’ for Bayern Munich
Branded as an ‘elite performer’ by The Athletic, the 33-year-old looked set to sign for the Bundesliga champions at one point.
In fact, when Thomas Tuchel had a chat with the Englishman during the Sky Blues’ 2-1 win in pre-season, many believed the transfer was all but official.
But as Kyle Walker decided to prolong his time at Manchester City, Ilkay Gundogan believes he would have been a terrific addition for Bayern.
“I absolutely understood that Thomas Tuchel was fighting for Kyle. In terms of player profile, he would have been a perfect fit for Bayern.”
However, Ilkay Gundogan says he understands why Manchester City were unwilling to let Kyle Walker join Bayern so readily.
“But I also knew that City wouldn’t make it easy for Kyle. Especially after Riyad [Mahrez] and I said goodbye, plus Kevin De Bruyne’s injury. With Kyle, City would lose an absolute leader. So, I knew they would do everything they could to keep him.”
Manchester City keeping Kyle Walker boosts their Champions League chances
While Bayern would have benefitted from signing Kyle Walker massively, as Ilkay Gundogan said, Manchester City can be grateful for keeping their club legend.
However, there is no disputing that the treble-winner is perhaps past his prime.
But even at 33 years of age, Walker remains the best defensive full-back in the world.
This especially suits Manchester City in the Champions League, as losing him would have made life difficult for them when inevitably facing world-class wingers like Kylian Mbappe or Vinicius Jr., for instance.
However, with Kyle Walker’s presence, the Sky Blues have a chance of becoming the second team in history to win back-to-back Champions League trophies as they well and truly have any wideman’s kryptonite on their hands.
