Manchester City are no strangers to seeing players leave the club.
Previous transfer windows have seen a wide range of players walk away from City either on permanent transfer deals, temporary loans or as free agents following the expiration of their contracts.
In fact, Pep Guardiola’s contract at the club is set to expire in June, meaning that this current season could be his final one if he doesn’t sign an extension beforehand.
In terms of the current players in City’s squad, a claim has been made regarding one potential factor that could be at play in regards to one particular figure’s future at the Manchester club.
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Thomas Tuchel could have big say in Kyle Walker’s Man City future
Speaking to Manchester City News, GRV Media’s transfer expert, Graeme Bailey, highlighted how Thomas Tuchel’s England plans could impact Kyle Walker’s future at the Etihad Stadium.
He said: “This will probably be on the player himself. I think with him, he might be interested to see if he’s in the England squad in March time, when Tuchel picks his first England squad in March.
“We’ll get an idea then if he’s included. If he’s included in March then he only has another 12 months to go before it’s the World Cup basically, so again, could the World Cup determine [Walker’s future? Quite possibly.
“England’s team is well stocked but we need to see what Tuchel’s preferences are. Does he rate Trent [Alexander-Arnold]? We don’t know yet. Does he rate Reece James? We know that because of his Chelsea time.
“But if Tuchel plays a three, Walker suddenly becomes an interesting option on the right because England are still not blessed with an awful lot of central defenders.
“I think that’s up in the air Walker, we’ll see if Pep stays etc, that’ll impact on many things, Walker being one of the prime examples.”
What has Walker said about Tuchel’s England appointment?
Following the appointment, Walker gave this verdict about Tuchel becoming the new England manager.
He said: “It’s a great appointment and an even better appointment if he puts me in the team again. But the proof is in the pudding, we need to do it as players.”
City paid £50m to sign the 34-year-old from Tottenham Hotspur back in the 2017 summer transfer window.
Since then, the defender has gone on to make 308 appearances for the Citizens across all competitions, winning multiple trophies along the way.
As things stand, the right-back’s contract at the Manchester club is set to expire in the summer of 2026.
It was recently reported that City will look to sell Walker in the summer, with clubs in Saudi Arabia looking to land a deal for him.
In fact, Walker had a tour of Al-Ahli’s facilities during the previous summer transfer window.
Now that Tuchel’s decision of whether to use the City captain as a regular in his England team has been suggested as being a potential factor in whether Walker stays or leaves the club in the summer, this will definitely be something the supporters keep an eye on once the German officially begins his role.
