Guardiola: 'Man City will fight to keep Walker'
In the second half of last season, Walker lost his starting position when Guardiola used a defense with four central defenders. The Spanish coach said Walker "did not have the right movements" to play the role of full-back and holding midfielder, so he could not compete with John Stones.
Therefore, the 33-year-old English defender is said to want to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer and has accepted a three-year contract offer from Bayern. This is against the policy of "Gray Lobster" which is not to award long-term contracts to players over 30 years old.
On July 25, at a press conference before a friendly against Bayern in Barcelona, Guardiola confirmed that he wanted to keep Walker. "He's extremely important for us," said the 52-year-old coach. "Walker has specific qualities that are hard to find. Two clubs are in contact. We will fight for Walker like Bayern. I don't know how it will end."
German media reported that Walker will not play against Bayern, but Guardiola insists the 33-year-old defender is still playing at the Japanese national stadium today. "Of course Walker will play, he's still a Man City player," Guardiola insisted. "We need to play Bayern with the best players and we hope Walker stays next season. Why is Walker out?"
Sitting next to the Spanish teacher, Ruben Dias hopes both Walker and Bernardo Silva - midfielders in the sights of Barca and PSG - will stay at Etihad Stadium next season.
This summer, Man City parted ways with Ilkay Gundogan and Benjamin Mendy after the contract expired and reached an agreement to sell Riyad Mahrez to Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli club. Not only many stars have uncertain futures, Guardiola has parted ways with many assistants after a historic treble season.
Assistant Enzo Maresca has been appointed Leicester manager under a contract until 2026, while assistant Rodolfo Borrell - who has worked at City since 2016 - left this summer to take on the role of sporting director at MLS club Austin.
Guardiola is said to want former assistant Juanma Lillo back. Lillo - who replaced Mikel Arteta in 2020 and was considered Guardiola's tactical adviser when he was a young coach - left the club to lead Qatar club Al Sadd last year. When asked about this information, Guardiola joked: "I don't know what happens to the assistants, I take care of them very well and they always leave me. If you want to come to my bench, I have plenty of seats."
After the match against Bayern today, Man City will play a friendly with Atletico in Mapo, South Korea on July 30 and then start the new season with the English Super Cup match against Arsenal at Wembley on August 6.
