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Kyle Walker | Getty Images
Manchester City cut ties with the player on a permanent basis last year
Kyle Walker has admitted it has been ‘mentally tough’ switching from Manchester City to Burnley. The 35-year-old left the Etihad Stadium last summer on a permanent basis. He spent the second-half of last season on loan at AC Milan.
The right-back has made 28 league appearances for the Clarets since his switch to Turf Moor. The Lancashire outfit are in the bottom three along with Wolves and West Ham. They are set to return to the Championship under Scott Parker after just a year.
Kyle Walker on Manchester City exit
Walker has opened up about his exit from City to Burnley on The Overlap with Gary Neville: “It’s been mentally tough going from Manchester City to Burnley. In your head, to be at the club that you've been, experience what you've experienced and playing with people that I've played with, and this is no disrespect to Burnley whatsoever and the players there, because I honestly think that they're a bunch of young men that are fantastic.
“The dressing room is class. I've never felt uncomfortable being there. The players welcomed me with open arms. That's something that needs to stay there, because it's a proper family-orientated club. The Premier League is completely different to the Championship. On occasions, you can flutter through games in the Championship because you know you’ve got some of the best players in the league, but in the Premier League, you make a mistake and you get punished.
“That's where we've probably fallen short this season in not turning up in some of the games where we need to probably collect the points. But, also as well giving away stupid goals and situations what's not really helped us out, as for a team and as for a club and an organisation, everyone's been good [to me].”
Walker, who has made 96 caps for England, joined City back in 2017. He went on to make 319 appearances for the North West giants in all competitions and scored six goals from the back. The right-back won everything under the guidance of Pep Guardiola.
The Sheffield-born man rose up through the academy at Sheffield United and was a regular for the Blades at various different youth levels before breaking into their first-team. He then moved down south when Tottenham Hotspur came calling in 2009. The defender then became a key player during his time in London before deciding to come back up north after eight years.
Regarding when he plans to retire, Walker said: “I don’t know if I’ll continue playing for a few more years. I feel once that time in my head comes where I'm done, I'd have to be true to myself. Leave the game before the game leaves you.
“I’m 36 in May, but I’m feeling good. It takes longer to recover; I can tell you that. One million percent. And probably now I'm probably doing a lot more defending than I've ever done in my career, but I feel good. It's more for me upstairs [referring to the mental side of football] and you fight your little battles in your head if you can keep doing it. I don't want to tarnish what I've done but I also have a level of respect for myself that I'll do it on my terms.”
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