AC Milan have rejected Marcus Rashford to instead sign Kyle Walker on a 12-month loan deal.
Walker requested a transfer from Manchester City on the eve of their FA Cup third round victory over Salford City. The right-back has had a difficult campaign, with City's title defense falling flat on its face.
Rashford is someone who can probably sympathize with his England teammate after two terrible years. The attacker also indicated at the beginning of this month that he wants to leave Manchester United.
Milan had emerged as leading contenders for both struggling Three Lions. But Serie A rules state that clubs can only sign one British player per year, meaning they have to choose.
According to several reports, the man they chose is Walker, who will receive a 12-month loan. The 34-year-old is expected to travel to Italy in the coming days before being unveiled by his new club.
Milan will pick up the majority of Walker's £150,000-a-week wages as part of the deal. Sérgio Conceição's side currently sit eighth in the Italian top flight, with the Portuguese boss recently replacing Paulo Foncesca.
Walker would like to come to Italy 'as soon as possible' to finalize the deal. It is expected that this will be a formality, as the right back is already described as a 'Milan player'.
Walker's move ends Milan's interest in Rashford, at least until the summer transfer window. The forward was initially banned by Ruben Amorim immediately after his comments, but returned as an unused substitute against Brighton.
But he was once again left out of the defeat to Brighton, with Amorim refusing to go into details. He said: “At the moment Rashford is not there, and in the last games we have lost Rashford was not there.
“I don't want to put this moment on Rashford. Rashford is out of this moment because he is not playing. Whatever happens, I am not going to put in a player who I don't think is the best for the team.”
Meanwhile, City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted Walker's transfer request all but ended his time at the club. He said: “Kyle has asked to explore the possibility of playing abroad. I prefer to play against players whose minds are here.”
“We cannot understand the success that the club had these years without Kyle. That is impossible. But now, for many reasons, he would like to explore in his mind whether he can go to another country to play out his last years.”
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