Kyle Walker’s Sheffield United return? How much Blades might have to pay him | OneFootball

The 35-year-old has expressed his desire to play for his boyhood club once more before he retires

It's often the case that, when a footballer's career starts to head towards its twilight years, they express a desire to play for their boyhood club, and Kyle Walker has expressed that with Sheffield United.

The 35-year-old Burnley full-back recently retired from international football, and questions have now been sparked over how much longer he has left in the domestic game. Walker turns 36 in May and has won pretty much everything there is to win, from Premier Leagues to FA Cups and the Champions League, too.

Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, he addressed his mindset surrounding retirement, and given that he's been around the professional game since he was six years old, when he was scouted by Sheffield United, full retirement is a difficult concept to grasp.

He did say, though, that he'd love to represent the Blades once more, having grown up in Sheffield supporting the club, stating that it'd be a "dream" to go back to Bramall Lane.

Right now, Walker's Burnley side are destined to be in the Championship next season, along with Sheffield United, barring a miraculous late run from either side out of the Premier League's bottom three or into the second-tier's top six, respectively.

So, a move could easily be made if the two sides find themselves in competition with each other come August, but how much would the Blades have to offset to bring him in?

Kyle Walker's estimated wage at Burnley FC as Sheffield United reunion claim made

Capology estimates that Kyle Walker earns £75,000 per week at Burnley, although that could potentially reduce if the Clarets return to the Championship, with many players nowadays having a reduction in their contracts automatically in case of dropping a division.

Walker's salary is the highest wage that Burnley are estimated to pay for one player. Given Walker's pedigree, having been at one of the richest clubs in world football for eight years before his move from Manchester to Lancashire, you'd expect him to command a large wage at Turf Moor.

While there are players currently in the Championship who are said to be earning £75,000 or more per week, such as Leicester City's Patson Daka, Ricardo Pereira, and Harry Winks, there may be a necessity to cut back on wages at Burnley in the summer if relegation does come, which could lead to Walker being let go.

If he does, then you'd imagine that a Premier League side would be interested in bringing in someone who has over 400 appearances at the level, but that may not be where Walker would prefer to go.

Kyle Walker might be okay with taking major wage cut to re-join Sheffield United

It's safe to say that if Walker is going to ride off into the sunset at his boyhood club, he is going to have to take a bit of a wage cut.

If Sheffield United don't get promoted this season, they'll have to navigate a Championship campaign without parachute payments for the first time since the 2018/19 season, and with their highest earner not on loan at the club, only estimated to earn £35,000 per week, they simply wouldn't see the worth in a move for Walker on his current wages.

But, if Walker is purely acting on sentiment, perhaps he'd be okay taking a major wage cut to re-join the Blades, as it's not like he hasn't been paid peanuts throughout his career.

At Manchester City, the 35-year-old was said to be earning between £110,000 and a whopping £175,000 per week over the eight years he spent at the Etihad Stadium. And, before then, his lowest contract at Tottenham Hotspur from 2013-2017 was £55,000 per week.

He's been earning in the millions per year for over a decade now, so one or two years where that drops below at Sheffield United may not affect him, especially if it helps him live out a lifelong dream of finishing out his storied career where it all started for him in the Steel City.