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Walker wants Man City stay …despite Bayern interest

Kyle Walker would prefer to stay at Manchester City this summer despite inter­est from Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich.

Sky in Germany are reporting that Bayern are in advanced nego­tiations to sign the City defender, but it is understood the 33-year-old wants to remain at the Etihad, and sign an extension to his existing contract.

Walker has one year left on his current deal and City have no desire to sell him this summer.

City head coach, Pep Guardiola, left Walker on the bench for the Champions League final, favouring Nathan Ake over him in defence.

Guardiola said in April Walker was unable to play in City’s system which saw John Stones move into midfield from defence at a time when the England international had lost his place in the team.

“He cannot do it,” Guardiola said of Walker. “He will always have pace; Kyle at 60 years old will be the fastest player in this room. To play inside you have to have educated movements – he doesn’t have every one of the character­istics.”

Walker, who joined City from Tottenham in 2017 for £50m, has won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and the Champions League in his six years at the club.

Meanwhile, Man City will not stand in Bernardo Silva’s way if he wishes to leave the club.

However, as has previously been the case, the player and his repre­sentatives must request a transfer and present a suitable offer to the treble-winners to consider.

Paris Saint-German are interest­ed in signing him, while Barcelona are also long-term admirers of the Portugal international.

In an ideal world for City, Silva would stay and sign a new long-term contract, having been instrumental in their momentous achievements last season, winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup trophies.

However, Silva is understood to have considered a move away from City last summer, which did not materialise. — Sky Sports

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