Former Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp has shared some details about what Kyle Walker told him about potentially leaving Manchester City last summer.
During the previous summer transfer window, the right-back was heavily linked with a move away from the Manchester club and had even reportedly verbally agreed to join Bayern Munich.
However, after a chat with Pep Guardiola, the Englishman decided to stay at the Etihad Stadium and even went on to sign a new deal with the club.
Now though, one former Premier League striker, whom Walker knows from his time with the Blades, has shared some details about what the defender told him about a possible move away from the Citizens.
Sharp shares Walker conversation over possible City exit
Speaking in a recent edition of the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Sharp had this to say about Walker and the conversation he had with the City full-back over a potential summer exit.
He said: “There was talk of him leaving City. I spoke to him after the semi-final at Wembley and he was saying ‘yeah, I may be going,’ but he signed a new contract.”
With City beating the Yorkshire club 3-0 in the FA Cup semi-final back in April, this proves that Walker was thinking about leaving the club even before the season had ended and the summer transfer window opened.
While Walker’s future was still up in the air over the summer, Guardiola told the media that he and the club would do all they could to keep hold of the full-back, whom they signed for £50m back in 2017, which is what they ended up doing.
This highlighted how much of a significant figure the England international is for his side and why keeping hold of him was such a big positive for them.
This season has seen Walker start all 12 of City’s Premier League games, racking up more minutes than any other player in the squad, which showcases how vital he is for Guardiola and why a possible exit last summer would have left a big hole in the team.
