Yahoo Sports Kyle Walker insight: Scouting report, stats, transfer rating and more
AC Milan announced the signing of Kyle Walker on an initial loan deal with an option to buy on Friday. So, what does he offer to the Rossoneri?
It has been a relatively quiet January for Milan so far, however, that is to be expected given they participated in the Supercoppa Italiana at the start of the month. A move for Walker has come about rather quickly and in less than a fortnight, he signed on the dotted line.
Initially, there was talk about a deal being permanent with the Englishman attempting to release himself from his contract with Manchester City. However, a loan-to-buy deal was eventually agreed on by all parties.
His name is not one that the Rossoneri have pulled from nowhere and as a multiple-time Premier League winner, the Rossoneri will hope that Walker can bring them back into the title picture. So, let’s have a look at what he can bring.
Background
Walker’s career started with local club Sheffield United and he rose through the ranks with the Blades until he reached the reserves in 2008. However, the right-back was deemed not ready yet for the Sheffield outfit, so he was loaned to Northampton Town.
The loan only lasted a month, and in the second half of the 2008/09 season, the defender was a mainstay in the Sheffield United team that made it to the Championship playoff final.
As a result of his swift rise, he earned a move to Tottenham Hotspur, but he was swiftly loaned back to Sheffield United. After loan spells with Queens Park Rangers and Aston Villa, the Englishman was given a chance to show his talent after he performed to a good level in the Premier League.
In his first ‘proper’ season with the Lilywhites, Walker became a mainstay in the defence, and showed his quality, even becoming the PFA Young Player of the Year, beating the likes of Sergio Aguero and Gareth Bale to the award, showing how much of a good season he had had.
Walker’s prominence at the top level of Premier League players did not stop there, and with Tottenham, he extended his stay at right-back in the following season, playing the majority of the North London outfit’s games, and this saw the club extend his contract.
The Sheffield-born defender continued to impress as he matured on the pitch, and the 2016/17 perhaps was his best in a Tottenham shirt. At the end of the season, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year, and this is when his career reached a new level.
After such a good season, the right-back moved to Manchester City in a move worth around £50m, which was the most expensive deal for an English defender in history at the time.
Walker impressed throughout the season, and he was rewarded with silverware in his first season, winning the Premier League for the first time in his career and also overcoming Arsenal in the final of the EFL Cup, keeping a clean sheet in the process as the Citizens stormed to a 3-0 win.
In the years that followed, City continued to dominate and Walker was at the heart of it all with many seeing him as one of the best, if not the best, right-backs in the world for years.
Three Premier League trophies, an FA Cup, and three more Carabao Cups later, Walker had established himself as one of the best English right-backs of all time, and one of the best full-backs that the English top flight had seen, and few could contest the fact.
Walker’s career with City was far from done there though, and what happened next cemented himself as one of the poster boys of the Pep Guardiola era.
After losing the 2020-21 Champions League final, Guardiola began to slowly transform his team, and Walker was sometimes used as an inverted full-back, a role which he was not unfamiliar with, given he had previously played in a back-three or as a right-sided central defender in a back four.
The Spaniard continued to experiment, and Walker continued to remain at the heart of the defence; aiding in attack and defence. His place became further cemented, and Walker’s versatility and leadership were key reasons why the club won the quadruple in the season. However, he did not start in the final of the Champions League against Inter, but he still helped defend the 1-0 lead.
His international career began in 2009 with the England Under-19 squad. Walker only played seven times for the Young Lions and played every game of the European Championship of that year where the side fell to Ukraine in the final.
Seven was a prominent figure for Walker at youth level, as the following year saw the first of his seven caps for the Under-21 squad. Given how heavily he was impressing though, he was called into the senior squad in 2011.
Caps came occasionally and his huge break in the National Side came in the 2018 World Cup with Gareth Southgate relying on the right-back heavily, albeit in that aforementioned right centre-back role of a back three.
Walker’s performances were a key part of England’s success in the World Cup, as the Three Lions reached their first semi-final since 1990.
In the European Championship in 2021, the right-back was great once again, and he was named in the Team of the Tournament as England reached the final against Italy but lost through penalties.
The following World Cup, Walker was again great, and despite falling to France in the quarter-finals, the English defender was praised heavily for his stopping of Kylian Mbappe who ended the tournament as the top goalscorer, definitely not an easy feat.
In the past two seasons, Walker has come under fire from fans and the media, with some stating that he is not the defender that he used to be, and with a change of scenery desired and Walker’s career in England effectively as complete as it can get, a move away was needed.
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Strengths and weaknesses
In the past 10 years, Walker established himself as arguably the best right-back of a generation. Now, at 34-years-old there are questions about what role he can play in this Milan squad. So let’s take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the defender.
Starting with his strengths, the obvious one is his pace. His fastest sprint reached 37.31 km/h, according to GiveMeSport, but even despite claims that his pace was dropping he still recorded a sprint speed of more than 35 km/h, he definitely still has gas in the tank.
Physically, Walker is one of the best in the business, and if his pace did not prove this, his strength can only support it. The right-back is phenomenal in challenges simply due to how strong he is, and partnered with his speed, the Englishman is a menace to play against.
For this reason, he is exceptional in one-on-one situations. Whether it be getting to the ball before an attacker or when an attacker is running at the defender, he is normally phenomenal. He reads the game well, and he can physically compete, which is all you can ask for from a wide defender.
In addition to this, the right-back has an exceptional awareness of the game, which sort of ties into the prior point.
You can argue that the biggest aid to Milan will be Walker’s mental attributes. At 34-years-old he is no longer a spring chicken, but the Rossoneri have not signed a spring chicken. They have signed a right-back to offer support, if not start, who can be a big aid in the dressing room.
We saw in the summer how experience was valued ahead of youth, and with the Diavolo needing an option for now at the very least, Walker can provide this. He has been in title-contending sides consistently for the past 10 years, so he knows what it takes to compete at the top, and this is the case in Europe too.
It has already been alluded to, but another of Walker’s strengths is his tactical abilities. Sergio Conceicao is not just getting a right-back in this move. He’s getting a wing-back, a right-back, a central defender, and everything in between. What Conceicao needs, the Englishman will probably be able to do.
As can be seen in the heat maps shown below. The right-back does not lock himself to one zone, and he has regularly inverted, whether it be into midfield or in defence. This does not mean that he cannot overlap though, and it is likely we will see a bit of everything.
At 34, Walker is obviously going to have some weaknesses, but that does not mean he is a bad player at all. However, there are probably two standout issues.
Walker’s biggest selling point has been his speed, and whilst we have listed it as a strength, he is not the fastest player on the pitch as he once may have been. Of course, he can still run, but whether he can still run at the high 30km/h numbers regularly and more importantly, when needed, is another thing.
With his speed, his positioning has often not been too much of an issue as he has been able to recover well normally. However, if his pace has dwindled slightly, which is looks to have, then he can be caught lacking and without the speed, or as much speed, there is potential for problems.
Statistical comparison
Despite being 34, Walker’s minutes have been phenomenal, especially for a player of his profile.
As a right-back, especially as someone who is expected to run as much and as intensely as the Englishman does, reliability is one of the most important things and Walker’s records are superb. In the past nine seasons, Walker has played more than 27 Premier League games in six of those seasons.
In addition to this, his minutes have regularly been around the 2,000 mark in the Premier League, which again is a huge factor.
Of course, his minutes have dropped this season, yet he still has recorded around 1,000 Premier League minutes, which shows how much he has been used, even if his role has dwindled slightly.
With Milan still in the Coppa Italia and Champions League, Walker is not a stranger to playing in three competitions in a season regularly. Since 2013/14, the former Spurs defender has featured in a European competition every season, which shows his levels.
Using Fbref, we can take a look at Walker’s stats in recent years, which is especially helpful considering his game time has been lessened this season
This season, the Englishman has been one of the best passing full-backs, with him ranking in the 97th percentile for passes completed per 90 at 88.6%. The top player for this is Ferland Mendy, who only has a 5% better success rate.
For actual passes attempted, Walker sits in the 98th percentile, which is again fantastic with Joshua Kimmich leading that list.
Statistically, last season was one of Walker’s best in a City shirt, and he regularly displayed how strong he actually is in the Sky Blues’ system.
Passing was, once again, one of the right-back’s best attributes which would not actually be really imagined. In recent years, Walker has been faced with the battle against Trent Alexander-Arnold for best right back, so it can be argued that his passing traits have gone under the radar because of the competition.
In the 2023/24 season, Walker recorded 0.13 assists per game in the Premier League, which put him in the 74th percentile of Premier League wing-backs. In addition to this, considering Walker often inverts, seeing him record this number of assists is superb.
As a result of this, seeing the defender average almost six progressive passes received per game is not a shock, and it is clear to see that he is still able to be the attacking full-back that he may have primarily been earlier in his career, and arguably, what Milan need currently.
In the season prior, Walker actually ranked 97th for progressive passes himself, making 7.45 per game, which again shows his focus and ability to bring his side forward, which is definitely a trait that is needed.
Another point of focus that needs to be highlighted is the reliability that Walker actually offers in the game. Last season, the defender averaged 0.03 errors per game, whilst the season before, he did not average any errors per game.
Defensive errors have been such a big issue for the Diavolo in recent years, and adding someone of Walker’s ability can only be an aid, both in terms of the player himself and his mentality.
Conclusion
As January transfers go, it could be argued that this is one of the best moves that Milan could have made. Walker provides an upgrade on the current options, and with Emerson Royal’s injury, he offers some stability.
The Englishman can also be huge for the Rossoneri off the pitch, his influence will be felt massively in the dressing room. After all, this is a six-time Premier League winner and a Champions League winner. In the past 10 years, few players have been as decorated, and Walker knows what it means to win, and more importantly, how to win.
With Milan lacking leaders, Walker can also take the weight off of players like Theo Hernandez, Rafael Leao and Mike Maignan who may not be ready to be the leader of a squad just yet. Whilst we are not suggesting Walker will be named captain, he may be given the responsibility of one, and that could be huge, mentally, for some players in the squad.
Given the Diavolo have the option of making the deal permanent after six months, there is almost no downside to the move, at least on the face of it, and it is a signing that has huge potential. A sentence that definitely feels strange when speaking about a player in the latter stage of their career.
Transfer rating: 8.5/10
