Kyle Walker completes AC Milan loan with transfer twist for Man City

Kyle Walker has been announced as an AC Milan player with England defender signing a loan deal at San Siro after ending his era as Manchester City captain

Kyle Walker has completed his loan move to AC Milan with the Serie A giants having an option to buy the England defender for £4.2million this summer.

And Milan will cover the 34-year-old’s £175,000-a-week wages for the duration of his spell at San Siro after he asked to leave Manchester City earlier this month. He turned down a number of other offers and only decided to join Milan on the proviso they would give him a two-year deal IF he impresses between now and the summer.

Walker has struggled to match his levels at City this season with Pep Guardiola admitting his surprise that the veteran requested a move before the recent FA Cup win against Salford.

But City have a policy of not standing in the way of players who are keen to leave and Walker, who believes he can still be part of the England squad for next year’s World Cup, has turned down offers from elsewhere, including the Saudi Pro League, before settling on Milan.

He will join a squad featuring fellow Englishmen Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Milan sit a lowly eighth in the league table but recently appointed Sergio Conceicao as head coach and are expected to reach the Champions League knockout stages.

Walker heads to Italy in an effort to mend his relationship with wife Annie Kilner, who he has four children with after a long affair – played out in public – with TV personality Lauryn Goodman. Walker is father to her two children – Kairo, aged four, and Kinara, who’s 18 months old.

On the field, Walker could be thrust into action for his new side, potentially making his Serie A debut against Parma on Sunday,

On his departure, Guardiola said two weeks ago: “It’s not easy for me to say but Kyle is not here because two days ago he asked to explore the option to play abroad.

“He asked after the Treble, when Bayern wanted him, but the offer was not good enough. For that reason, I prefer to play other players whose mind is here. Kyle went to Txiki Begiristain. Maybe I am wrong but I am pretty convinced that you should keep no one who doesn’t want to be here.

“Kyle asked to explore. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, you never know. I respect him a lot because I’m more than grateful. He has been here many years for us. He’s been important for the national team but he said ‘I want to explore, in my mind and my heart I want to explore it.’”

And City have already overhauled their defence this month with the arrivals of defenders Vitor Reis (from Palmeiras for £29.6m) and Abdukodir Khusanov (from Lens for £34m). They are also tipped to sign forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal worth £50m.

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