Man City mistake: Etihad chiefs 'accept Kyle Walker should be gone already'

Man City decision makes realise they made a mistake by not phasing Kyle Walker out before now, according to a report from The Athletic.

The right-back last signed a contract extension at the Etihad Stadium in September 2023, which secures his future there until the end of the 2025/26 season.

However, he has struggled during Pep Guardiola’s side poor recent run of form that appears to have exposed the aging nature of the Premier League champions’ squad.

It seems as though that has led to some stark realisations behind the scenes at Man City, with it thought that they have now accepted 2025 may have been too late for a rebuild of their squad.

Walker is then identified as one player in particular who they feel should have been eased out of the first-team setup earlier.

Kyle Walker doubts no surprise at Man City

Football Insider Opinion

The fact that there are some at the club who now feel as though they have not moved the right-back on quick enough should perhaps not be a shock.

His performances have not been up to scratch recently, but it could be argued that this issue is one they should have seen coming.

For so long Walker has relied on his pace to get Man City out of trouble, but given he is now 34-years-old he was never going to be able to maintain those levels forever.

It now seems as though he has reached that turning point, and the fact that they are still using him despite that does not speak well to the planning behind the scenes at the Etihad.

Given he still has a year-and-a-half remaining on his contract, it will be interesting to see just how long it takes for Man City to move him on, since he himself may still feel this can be turned around.

There have been some suggestions that Sheffield United could be keen on reuniting with the right-back [talkSPORT].

Given others may be wary of his recent struggles, that may be a deal the champions should look to sanction.

In other news, Man City fans react to Jack Grealish performance against Nottingham Forest.

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