This summer has seen many players come and go at Manchester City.
Tijjani Reijnders was the last star added to Pep Guardiola’s squad with the Dutch international following Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri, and Marcus Bettinelli to Manchester, but the Premier League giants do not plan on stopping there.
Exits have also taken place with Cherki tasked with replacing the legendary Kevin De Bruyne at the Etihad Stadium, and many more are still to come, with the futures of Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones, and Jack Grealish up in the air at Man City.
A key departure was confirmed by the Manchester club last week, and ESPN pundit Stewart Robson has a theory on why the exit took place.
Kyle Walker in action during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Arsenal.
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Stewart Robson believes Kyle Walker has lost his pace
Kyle Walker completed his move from Man City to Burnley last week as the right-back was no longer part of Guardiola’s plans in Manchester.
Man City fans are happy to see Walker leave as father time has caught up with the 35-year-old, and that is an opinion Robson seems to buy into, as the pundit thinks that the English star has lost a bit of pace, which is the main reason he has dropped down to the level of Burnley.
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“He’s gone to Burnley. What I would say is that two years ago, Vinicius Junior would be playing against Man City for Real Madrid, and he’s the one player he never ever got past,” Robson said about Walker on ESPN FC.
“He was the key defender for Man City. We’re talking a year and a half ago, maybe just two years ago. He then went and played poorly for half a season at Man City.
“He then goes to Milan and doesn’t do particularly well there. He’s now signed for Burnley. And the only reason that he can’t be the top player that he once was is that he must have lost a bit of pace.
“But very quickly. Because only two years ago, he was almost unbeatable in 1v1 situations. He was the player who got Man City out of loads of situations. So it seems a big come down in the space of two years to him ending up going to Burnley.”
Walker’s pace was a big reason why he will go down as one of the greatest right-backs in Premier League history, and although the defender has not made the best decisions over the last 12 months, supporters of the Manchester club should not forget everything he achieved at the Etihad.
How Kyle Walker compares to Tino Livramento
Man City are expected to sign a right-back before the transfer window shuts, and Newcastle’s Tino Livramento is said to be Guardiola’s top target for the role.
The two players are similar in a way as both are stronger in the defensive side of the right-back role, although Livramento has proven to be more of a threat going forward, even though last season’s numbers don’t show this.
Player Games Goals Assists Minutes
Kyle Walker 34 0 0 2205
Tino Livramento 45 0 1 3459
Kyle Walker and Tino Livramento’s 24/25 stats
The 22-year-old would be a great addition to Man City as his defensive nature would complement the attacking style of Ait-Nouri on the left side perfectly.
However, Newcastle has no plans to part ways with the defender, and it has been reported that Man City would need to pay £80m to sign Livramento, which the Manchester club are unlikely to do.