Why Manchester City cannot afford transfer mistake having learnt harsh Kyle Walker lesson | OneFootball

Kyle Walker is nearing a transfer to Burnley that will take the 35-year-old off Manchester City’s books for a deal that could be worth £5 million if bonuses are met.

The six-time Premier League winner joined AC Milan on loan in January after losing his starting place under Pep Guardiola, who does not consider Walker part of his plans for the 2025-26 campaign.

Walker joined Manchester City from Tottenham in 2017 and represents the best of Guardiola’s trophy-laden tenure at the Etihad Stadium, having proved to be a pivotal member of the Catalan’s ranks through City’s domestic and European success over the years.

However, the time has come to an end for the England international at Manchester City, who have already let Kevin De Bruyne leave on a free transfer this summer and are not pulling any punches when it comes to decisions on contracts of first-team stars – following the appointment of Hugo Viana as sporting director.

Viana has been tasked with conducting an overhaul of Guardiola’s ageing, injury-riddled squad after replacing Txiki Begiristain. The Portuguese has already secured the arrival(s) of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders, Marcus Bettinelli and Rayan Cherki.

The FIFA Club World Cup – where Manchester City went as far as the Round of 16 – has provided a peak through the curtain into Guardiola’s newlook side but defensive frailties once again proved to be the Blues’ downfall as they succumbed to a 4-3 defeat to Al-Hilal in extra time to be knocked out of the tournament earlier in the week.

Centre-half, in particular, is an area of the squad that needs trimming and one that is almost certain to witness atleast one high-profile exit between now and when the transfer window shuts on September 1. John Stones is entering the final year of his contract; Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake could also be moved on after unconvincing 2024-25 seasons.

Guardiola will have been thrilled with the arrival of Ait-Nouri from Wolves for a multitude of reasons: first, we are unlikely to witness any more of Josko Gvardiol at left-back. Second, left-back has been an ever-present issue for City under Guardiola and a stellar acquisition in the position has been on the cards for many years now.

City have had to make do with Gvardiol and even the likes of Rico Lewis and Ake at times at left-back in recent years. Guardiola has typically always desired a small squad of players capable of operating in several positions.

However, the absence of natural full-backs was a major issue for Manchester City and one that was compounded by Walker’s mid-season switch to AC Milan on loan, which left the Blues without a specialist at right-back to enter the second half of what Guardiola has himself deemed to be the most challenging year of his managerial career.

There can be no cutting corners in rebuilding the squad for next season if City want to win a fifth league title in six seasons and progress deeper into the UEFA Champions League after a disappointing Round of 16 exit to Real Madrid last term.

Walker is well past his prime but as good as Matheus Nunes has been – the Portuguese has been one of Guardiola’s most improved players in the last nine months – City need to sign a specialist right-back to address the area once and for all.

An outlay just short of £300 million on eight new signings since January means the club are not messing around – and if it isn’t Newcastle’s Valentino Livramento – the board need to identify alternatives and swiftly move on to other targets to make sure they have their bases covered for the years to come.

Nunes is understood to want to stay into next season and Guardiola has recently spoken highly of his 2023 signing’s prospects of turning into a potent right-back for the Blues. However, it cannot be stressed enough that City cannot hang their hats on a natural central midfielder – and young Lewis – to share the workload at right-back for another season.

Abdukodir Khusanov can also play at right-back and did a commendable job of filling in following his January arrival from RC Lens. Akanji has also been tried at right-back, so has Stones. City cannot make do anymore however – not if they want to be competing in all competitions come the business end of the 2025-26 campaign.