Walker makes transfer preference clear after being left out by Man City again

Kyle Walker will only leave Manchester City this month if he can secure a move to a major European club.

The right-back has expressed his desire to leave the Etihad after eight years but is not looking for a big payday in the Middle East and wants to choose his next club carefully. Walker has already been linked with a move to Italy, with AC Milan among others interested.

The 34-year-old wants to continue playing for a top club, with his English ambitions at the heart of his thought process. Walker is determined to be part of the Thomas Tuchel era and has a huge desire to eventually win his 100th cap – he is currently ranked at number 93.

Walker knows that playing for a big team, ideally one in the Champions League, will support his ambitions and City are heavily backing his next move with his minutes under Pep Guardiola currently dwindling.

Walker's form has dipped this season, but Sky Sports understands that the player himself is confident he can play at his peak for at least another two years. In recent years he has been an integral part of the success in the blue half of Manchester.

Guardiola was coy when asked whether Walker, who was left out of the matchday squad against Brentford on Tuesday night, would play for City again amid ongoing rumors he would leave the club.

He said, “I don't know. It depends on how we are going to train (players perform in training). It depends on him. The transfer window ends when it ends (at the end of the month) and I don't know what will happen. I told him, 'Now it's a question of the market.'”

The City boss has backed Walker to continue operating at the top level and believes he has four years left. “He's an incredible player with incredible physicality,” he added. “When he is focused, he is unstoppable as a right back. He is a top player, if he is fit he can play professional football for one, two, three or four more years. I have never seen a player with these physical conditions in my career. [But] if he wants to explore [options]he should decide, not me. It's not my decision.”

City have been tipped to sign a number of their loyal players this summer as their aging squad starts to catch up with them. Guardola's side have suffered a massive setback and the likes of Ederson and Ilkay Gundogan have been linked with a move away, as has Kevin De Bruyne.

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