Kyle Walker nears Man City exit as loan deal agreed

Manchester City have agreed a loan deal with AC Milan which will send Kyle Walker to the Italian giants for the remainder of the season, according to various reports.

Pep Guardiola revealed that the veteran full-back wanted to finish his career outside England after leaving him out for the FA Cup thrashing of Salford City earlier this month. Milan were almost immediately put forward as Walker's keenest suitors.

There were some brief suggestions that Inter would hijack the deal, but Milan ploughed forward and put in their first formal offer for the 34-year-old, who quickly gave his backing to the move. The Serie A side have now struck an agreement with Manchester City.

The news was first broken by L'Equipe on Tuesday, claiming that Milan have agreed to a paid loan for Walker across the second half of the current campaign in a deal which includes "an easily achievable purchase option".

Walker flew to Milan on Thursday to complete his medical and finalise proceedings, The Athletic reported. A move for the England international fills the club's last remaining non-EU slot, which all but ends Milan's pursuit of his compatriot Marcus Rashford unless Fikayo Tomori ends up leaving the club this month.

City have not wasted any time bringing in defensive reinforcements of their own. Deals for Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis were both officially announced this week, while the defending champions have already lined up a third centre-back signing of the month in the form of AIK Freetong's highly rated Juma Bah.

Walker's revered turn of pace appears to have faded this term and Guardiola hasn't started him in a Premier League match since the late collapse against Manchester United in mid-December. However, as Nathan Ake was quick to point out after he was informed of the shock development, Walker's departure will be "massive" given his wealth of experience and intangible leadership qualities.

City's arrivals are touted as some of the brightest young prospects in world football, but Khusanov is the veteran of the trio at 20 years old.

"Two days ago, Kyle asked to explore the options to play abroad at the end of his career," Guardiola explained to assembled media earlier this month. "He asked two years ago after the treble, Bayern Munich I think wanted him but the offer was not good enough and I and the club [told] him how important he is."

"You cannot understand the success we have had these years without Kyle, it's impossible, he gave us something we didn't have, he's been amazing," Guardiola added. "But now in his mind, he would like to explore already to go to another country to play the last years for many reasons, and for that reason, I played other players whose mind is here."

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