Kyle Walker is reportedly unhappy with a lack of playing time at Manchester City of late, with Pep Guardiola starting Rico Lewis at right-back recently.
The 32-year-old has struggled with injury this season, wasn’t in great form for England at the World Cup in Qatar and hasn’t looked great since the domestic season resumed, so it’s little wonder he’s been overlooked.
Walker is coming to the end of his City career with his deal expiring in 2024 and the likelihood of a contract extension being slim, so he won’t want to spend the last 18 months on the bench.
Sadly, Guardiola’s decision appears justified as he’s being outperformed by Lewis on the pitch. Walker has made 10 Premier League appearances (706 minutes) while Lewis has made eight (365 minutes).
Lewis has averaged 0.8 tackles per game to Walker’s 0.2, been dribbled past 0.1 times per game to Walker’s 0.6, has created 0.6 chances per game to Walker’s 0.4, has been fouled 0.9 times per game to Walker’s 0.3, has whipped in 0.4 accurate crosses per game to Walker’s 0.0 and has completed 93.4% of his passes to Walker’s 90.2%.
The 32-year-old may be frustrated at the lack of playing time, but the simple truth is that he’s sitting out because Lewis is performing better.
In other news, Danny Murphy says Pep Guardiola axing ‘brilliant’ Joao Cancelo was ‘a bit surprising’
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