‘It was just to get out of Man City’: Kyle Walker can ‘kick on’ for Burnley and England – Johnson

Kyle Walker and Manchester City “clearly weren’t happy” with each other when the right-back ended his glittering career with the club, says Glen Johnson – and the former England international believes the 35-year-old hasn’t joined Burnley to “chill out”.

Six-time Premier League winner Walker requested a transfer in January, spending the second half of last season on loan at Milan before springing another surprise by joining Burnley on a two-year deal in July for a fee of up to £5 million.

“It’s not going to be as easy for him at Burnley as it was at Man City,” points out Johnson. “He’s going to be tested totally differently.

“He’s going to go in there as a big player – no-one in that dressing room is going to have won what he’s won. I’m sure he’s not going there to be comfortable and chill out.”

Kyle Walker wanted to ‘get out of Man City’

Having joined City from Tottenham for an initial £45m in 2017, Walker also won the FA Cup twice, the EFL Cup three times and the 2022/23 Champions League as Pep Guardiola made the Cityzens the dominant force in English football.

A run of four games without a start preceded the Sheffield United youth product being left out entirely for an FA Cup third round tie on January 8, when Guardiola explained Walker had “asked to explore the options to play abroad”.

Walker made his switch to Serie A two weeks later, resulting in seven starts in 18 games as part of a move hindered by injuries and illness.

“Whatever was going on behind the scenes that we didn’t know about, he and the club clearly weren’t happy with the situation, because otherwise you wouldn’t go out on loan,” says Johnson, speaking via William Hill Vegas.

“Other than match time and fitness, it was probably more just to get out of City. For me, it’s almost like, ‘I’ll just leave now and get out of the way and we’ll make a final decision in the summer.’ Milan’s a big club and a nice place to live.”

Kyle Walker: Burnley veteran targets World Cup

Walker’s hopes of joining England at the 2026 Fifa World Cup will depend on impressing for promoted Burnley, who suffered relegation in 2023/24 and are second-favourites to go down next season.

The Clarets shipped an average of more than two goals a game in their last top-flight campaign but had a remarkable defensive record under Scott Parker in the 2024/25 Championship, with the 16 goals they conceded in 46 matches totalling 14 fewer than any other team in all four divisions.

“I don’t think it’s got anything to do with him playing for Burnley,” Johnson says of Walker’s England prospects. “He just needs to get to his standards.

“He’ll definitely be wanting to use his experience [in the dressing room], but it’s all about what [else] he wants to do.

“At the same time, its about how much he wants to get in the England squad, how fit he wants to be and how hard he wants to work.”

Kyle Walker: Johnson backs England regular

A senior debutant in 2011, Walker has featured in almost every Three Lions squad since November 2015 and been a starter at their last five major tournaments, playing every minute en route to the final of Euro 2024.

He was left out of caretaker manager Lee Carsley’s squad last September but restored by Thomas Tuchel, making two starts and one substitute appearance in four games under the new boss.

“As long as he’s fit and playing, he’s got a chance,” feels Johnson, whose achivements during his exceptional 16-year senior career included an FA Cup win with Portsmouth in 2008, lifting the EFL Cup with Liverpool in 2012 and going to two editions of the World Cup and Euro 2012 on the way to winning 54 caps.

“England have quite a few right-backs so he will have to want to kick on, because he’s still got ability, he’s still fit and he’s got an engine.

“He’s a good professional so I’m sure if he can get momentum, he’ll play many games and England will be looking at him again.”

Kyle Walker England stats

Ex-youth international Walker has won 96 caps, scoring his only goal in a 1-1 draw away to Ukraine in Euro 2024 qualifying in September 2023.

“It’s just a relief,” he said afterwards. “To represent your country and be as fortunate as I have to have done that many times, to not have scored has been on my mind. Now I can tick that off.”

Known for his pace, Walker was comfortably England’s fastest player at Euro 2024, clocking a top speed of 34.8 km/h to put him ahead of fellow defenders Luke Shaw and Ezri Konsa.

He was 20th-fastest overall at those finals and the eighth-quickest defender, although speediest player Kylian Mbappe left Walker looking comparatively ponderous by hitting 36.5 km/h.

When does Burnley’s 2025/26 Premier League season start?

The first round of Premier League matches in 2025/26 will be on the weekend of August 16 2025, including Burnley’s trip to Tottenham on Saturday, August 16 at 15:00 BST.

The game against the Europa League holders will not be broadcast live in the UK.

The last round of matches this season will all start at the same time on May 24 2026. No rounds will take place within 60 hours of each other and there will be no fixture on December 24.

England World Cup qualifying fixtures, results

Walker will hope to be a caps centurion by the end of England’s qualification schedule for the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico and start on June 11, 2026.

Here are England’s Group K fixtures, which start at 19:45 UK time unless otherwise stated.

Friday, March 21: England 2-0 Albania
Monday, March 24: England 3-0 Latvia
Saturday, June 7: Andorra 0-1 England
Saturday, September 6: England vs Andorra (17:00)
Tuesday, September 9: Serbia vs England
Tuesday, October 14: Latvia vs England
Thursday, November 13: England vs Serbia
Sunday, November 16: Albania vs England (17:00)

Adblock test (Why?)