Zlatan Ibrahimovic has admitted that AC Milan are investigating whether a deal for Kyle Walker is possible after the defender told Manchester City he would like to leave the club.
Last weekend, after City's win over Salford, Pep Guadiola revealed Walker 'asked to explore the possibility of playing abroad'. The full-back was left out of his plans for the FA Cup tie, with the Catalan coach's preference being for club-oriented players.
Milan has emerged as a possible destination for the England international, with interest from Saudi Arabia also present. The 34-year-old signed for City from Tottenham in 2017 and has since won every major club honor under Guardiola.
Former Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain striker Ibrahimovic, now an advisor to the Rossoneri, has praised Walker's quality ahead of a potential transfer. The Swede has suggested he fits into the club's vision.
He told DAZN: “Everyone knows Walker is a great player, he has done great things at City. When there is someone like him on the market there is a lot of interest. It doesn't go against our vision because he is strong .” He's a leader, he has dominance in the locker room. Now we're seeing if it's possible.”
After initially appearing to relent on his departure, Guardiola appeared to row back on the prospect of Walker's departure being a guarantee. “The situation is different now, but the transfer window ends when it is over and I don't know what will happen,” Guardiola said.
“I said to Kyle: now it's a question of the market. He's an incredible player, with incredible physicality and when he's focused he's unstoppable as a right-back. He's a top class player. When he's fit , he can play for one player.” Two, three or four more years as a professional. I have never seen a player with these physical conditions in my career.
“If he wants to explore a move, the club will explore it and he has to decide, not me. It's not my decision. But he has to have an agreement with the club.”
City will be active in the transfer market. Deals are expected for Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov, among others, and Guardiola has revealed that the club must press ahead with their plans due to the squad's form and injuries.
Guardiola explained: “We are going to try to do something now, while we would do it in the summer. Due to the situation, it has advanced for a few months. We wouldn't do it (buy new players) if our players were fit, but today I think we have two central defenders, nothing more than that, and with our midfielders we are struggling.
“The situation means we have to do it sooner rather than later. After eight years together we have so many players over the age of 30 and the other reason is the amount of problems we have with player availability. It's a completely normal process, especially as we've had fewer than 11 teams in the Premier League in the last five years.
“All the big clubs in the Premier League have done it and now, because our players are not consistent, we have to add players. We have no other option. We have no alternatives.
“If the players were fit, we wouldn't go to the market. Absolutely not.”
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