AC Milan set to complete permanent deal for on-loan Manchester City first-team player | OneFootball

Kyle Walker is expected to complete a permanent move to AC Milan when his loan spell with the club finishes in the summer, according to reports.

The 34-year-old lost his place in Manchester City’s starting line-up this season after a string of underwhelming displays amid a torrid 45-day long run of results for the four-in-a-row Premier League champions between November and December.

The England international was heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich in the aftermath of City winning a historic treble in 2023 but decided to stay and take the captain’s armband from Ilkay Gundogan, who joined Barcelona that summer before returning to the Etihad.

Walker has also been front of centre of negative press in England owing to the fallout of his marriage and the defender has admitted to have made some serious errors in judgement when his extramarital affairs were reported in the media.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola signed Walker from Tottenham for £53 million in 2017 and the full-back has been a key cog in a team that has dominated the England top-flight under the Catalan, who signed a fresh two-year deal that will keep him at the club until 2027.

Despite not starting the Champions League final against Inter Milan in June 2023, Walker played a pivotal run in City’s run to their second Champions League final in three seasons, starring against the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

A major loss in form and serious lack in minutes owing to some high-profile mistakes saw Kyle Walker seek a loan exit from Manchester City in January, joining AC Milan until the end of the season.

The Sheffield-born defender is almost certainly past his blistering prime performances earlier on in his career, and is expected to permanently depart Manchester City when he finishes his six-month loan stint at the San Siro.

According to the latest information of Gazzetta dello Sport, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, AC Milan are expected to trigger the buy option in their loan deal for Walker and make their signing of the Englishman permanent ahead of the 2025/26 season.

The former Tottenham and Aston Villa full-back has just over 12 months remaining on his current deal at the Etihad Stadium and Manchester City will seek a fee in the region of €5 million from AC Milan owing to a buy-option clause included in the loan deal.