admin Manchester City are expected to start talks with Bayern Munich over the sale of Kyle Walker after the player agreed to a move to the Bundesliga giants.
The 32-year-old has been weighing his options for several months as Manchester City look to keep the veteran full-back’s services out of the current transfer window.
Various circles agree that City would be willing to offer Kyle Walker a new contract to keep him out of Bayern Munich’s clutches, but new developments appear to indicate those attempts have failed.
According to multiple reports that emerged on Friday, it is understandable that Kyle Walker is now ready to leave Manchester City after spending six extremely successful years at the club under Pep Guardiola. This follows information from Florian Plettenberg, who was the first to report that Bayern Munich have reached a full verbal agreement with Kyle Walker to sign the new Bundesliga champions, giving the club his ‘yes’ today.
It was also said that Bayern Munich’s next step is to reach an agreement with Manchester City on the player’s transfer fee, having agreed a contract until 2025 with an option for a further 12 months. Bayern Munich managers have reportedly been briefed on Kyle Walker’s decision to join the club this summer and the Bundesliga side are set to start negotiations with City soon, with proposals for a transfer fee of around €15m. Further information from Nathan Gissing to DiMarzio shows Kyle Walker is also expected to update Pep Guardiola “in the next few hours” about his decision to leave Manchester City after agreeing to a move to Bayern.
It’s currently unclear what transfer fee Manchester City expect from the sale of Walker, but it’s believed in some quarters that the Premier League champions want a sum in excess of £20m.
Etihad Stadium officials believe the fee represents fair value for a player entering the last 12 months of an existing contract and a defender who is in the final stages of his top-flight career. Kyle Walker will follow in the footsteps of Joao Cancelo, who left Manchester City in January on an initial six-month loan with an option to buy for Bayern Munich for €70m.
However, the Bundesliga giant has not activated this option. Cancelo will be part of the Manchester City squad who return to City Football Academy for pre-season training ahead of their Far East tour on Monday, with Bayern Munich playing in one of their scheduled friendlies.
