Jose Mourinho is the one who pulled the plug on Fenerbahce’s move for Kyle Walker, who eventually ended up joining Burnley.
That’s according to journalist Sercan Hamzaoğlu, [via Futbol Arena](https://x.com/futbolarena/status/1943332803619303803), who reports on what happened behind the scenes with Fenerbahce and Walker.
The 35-year-old completed a move to Burnley five days ago, joining them from Manchester City in an undisclosed deal.
He had returned to the Etihad after an unsuccessful loan deal at AC Milan in the second half of last season. The plan had been for him to join them on a permanent basis, but the Italian side decided against that, and he returned to Manchester.
A move to Turkey was heavily mooted and Mourinho was believed to be keen to add him to his squad at Fenerbahce as he looks to mount a successful title challenge in Turkey this season.
Instead, he has joined Burnley to help their efforts to stay in the Premier League following promotion from the Championship last season.
That has certainly raised some eyebrows, but Hamzaoğlu insists it was a case of Mourinho eventually turning the veteran away.
_“The Kyle Walker process unfolded as follows; Fenerbahce wanted Kyle Walker. Jose Mourinho met with the player personally and said he wanted to see him on the team,”_ he said.
_“Even when Mario Branco was in charge, Kyle Walker was on the table. Kyle Walker didn’t respond positively to Fenerbahce for a long time._
_“In response, Jose Mourinho said in a meeting: ‘He’s very confused. That means he doesn’t want to come to Türkiye. He wants to wait, but we can’t afford to wait until the last minute.’_
_“Fenerbahce then withdrew its offer, and Mourinho also backed out.”_