By the end of his first season, Pep Guardiola had realized that a massive overhaul of Manchester City's squad would be required to win the trophies he had been brought in to win.
Ten first-team regulars were let go in the summer of 2017 and a raft of new talent was signed to pave the way for an era of domestic dominance.
Central to this was the signing of Kyle Walker, who at the time was the most expensive defender in English football history, having joined from Tottenham for a fee of over £50 million, including extras.
Guardiola needed more energy from his full-backs to achieve his vision, and Walker was seen as the perfect upgrade for fan favorite Pablo Zabaleta, who was released at the age of 32.
Eyebrows were raised at the time, but in the seven and a half years since, Walker has repaid that transfer fee many times over.
In his first season at the Etihad, the right-back helped transform an ailing defense into Premier League champions with a record number of points. In the years that followed, Walker became a mainstay of a City side that dominated domestically and finally got their hands on the holy grail for the first time in 2023: the Champions League trophy.
Walker then stepped up to captain the team to yet another Premier League title last season, as well as becoming world champion at another club.
There is no doubt about how much he has developed as a player at City. He has become one of Guardiola's most trusted defenders and has proven on his day that he is the best in the world when defending one-on-one.
Rather than being afraid of encountering Kylian Mbappé or Vinicius Junior, the joke among the City squad is that Walker carries them around in his pocket and they actually become afraid of him. The England defender is so confident he has the benchmark of the world's best that he has named his podcast to that effect.
During his ten years in charge, Guardiola has developed his system such that he prefers his wing-backs to turn and join the central midfield. Walker has also had to develop. While he adapted his play to be able to step inside from a flatback four when Joao Cancelo was the more attacking option at the other end, Walker is not suited to the current system.
In April 2023, Guardiola honestly told us during a press conference that Walker “can't do it”. As a result, he was not selected for the Champions League final, a match in which Guardiola decided possession would be decisive, despite Walker completely nullifying Real Madrid's wide attacking threat for two legs of the semi-final.
However, the ultimate disappointment of his career is also the occasion when Walker's leadership qualities were at their strongest.
After being told he would not be starting the biggest game of his club career, Walker took it upon himself to deliver a heartfelt pre-match speech in the locker room, where he told his teammates that his dream was in their hands lay. .
It worked, and he will always have the Champions League medal to prove it. Six months later he started in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.
But just like with Zabaleta in 2017, time eventually catches up with everyone. This season, Walker has made too many mistakes and looked a shadow of the player who played with Mbappe in those fascinating showdowns.
Not many Premier League footballers make headlines on both the front and back pages of the newspapers, and this season Walker's name has appeared more in celebrity gossip columns than in Manchester City match reports.
Rico Lewis was chosen as the club's right-back and has now joined his senior teammate in the England squad to create even more competition.
Walker has been an incredible servant to his country, playing in two losing European Championship finals among his 93 England caps, and the ambition burns brightly for him to reach his century. He hopes he can achieve that career goal by staying relevant in a top European league.
Still, it is an unusual situation for a club captain to make a move in January, especially after winning so much.
Whatever Walker's motivation for seeking a new challenge abroad, it will bring the curtain down on an incredible era of success on the blue side of Manchester and in the Premier League.
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