kyle walker manchester-city
Kyle Walker’s move to Burnley was driven by a desire to rejuvenate his international career with England. However, the 35-year-old defender has admitted that his plan has not unfolded as he had hoped. Walker joined Burnley at the start of the season with the aim of securing the four additional caps needed to reach a milestone of 100 international appearances. Despite his aspirations, both Burnley’s struggles in the Premier League and his own challenges in maintaining form have left him out of the national team picture.
Kyle Walker said: “It’s always hard. I’m really enjoying it at Burnley, but when you’re not at a top club, it’s very hard to get into that team. I think I can only remember probably Kalvin Phillips at Leeds that’s probably gone on to get into an England team that’s really not at the top six, seven teams in the Premier League, so I always knew it would be an uphill battle.”
Walker continued: “But the main reason for me signing for Burnley was to make sure that I was playing in the Premier League and hopefully get to these 100 caps and also to achieve something if we went and obviously stayed up, which would be fantastic as well. I thought: ‘okay well, I’m just going to go to the Premier League, play Premier League football and hopefully I can get them four caps, which would get me to 100’. But it’s probably not worked out how I thought it would due to results, due to performance that I have to take accountability for as well and that’s it. It’s kind of like just close the chapter and we move on now.”
Walker’s comments highlight the challenges faced by players outside the Premier League’s top clubs in securing a spot in the national team. His reference to Kalvin Phillips underscores the rarity of such achievements. Despite the setback, Walker remains focused on his club commitments with Burnley, emphasizing the importance of accountability for both team results and personal performance. His decision to concentrate on club football suggests a shift in priorities as he looks to contribute to Burnley’s quest for Premier League survival.
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