Kyle Walker: City’s Premier League Crown Up for Grabs

Kyle Walker, Manchester City captain has stated that his team views the Premier League title as “theirs to lose” while they aim for an unprecedented fifth consecutive championship. City made history by winning four English top-flight titles in a row last season, and they will begin their defense with a match against Chelsea. Walker, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club, expressed pride in their achievements and emphasized the significance of their gold badge.

He acknowledged the challenge of staying motivated after a successful run, which included winning the Treble, Super Cup and Club World Cup. Walker believes the team’s ambition is to make history with five consecutive titles and highlighted the motivation derived from Pep Guardiola’s relentless pursuit of success. Reflecting on England’s Euro 2024 campaign, Walker admitted that the team felt added pressure and faced criticism after draws against Denmark and Slovenia.

Despite advancing past Slovakia in the last 16, the squad received criticism and Walker revealed that they discussed media scrutiny. He also expressed his shock at Gareth Southgate’s decision to leave Manchester City forward Jack Grealish out of the squad, calling it “massively shocking” because Grealish brings unique qualities. Southgate faced criticism for his team selections during the tournament, with calls for players like Cole Palmer, Ollie Watkins and Anthony Gordon to feature more prominently.

Kyle Walker acknowledged the difficulty of Southgate’s decisions and praised the contributions of late substitutes like Watkins, who scored in the semi-final and Palmer, who scored in the final. After the tournament, Southgate resigned and Lee Carsley took over as interim manager.