Kyle Walker doesn’t need accolades. The fact that he is one of the first names on Pep Guardiola’s team-sheet proves how good he is.
But if he did feel the need to have his ego tickled, then his four Premier League title medals and his status as England’s most trusted right-back will do just fine. It wasn’t that long ago that it seemed Walker’s days as international were numbered as tyros like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Reece James appeared to have overtaken him in Gareth Southgate’s thinking.
But with the World Cup approaching it would be a brave decision by the England boss not to give Walker the No 2 shirt in Qatar. Asked if he feels he gets the respect he deserves during City’s pre-season preparations in the United States, Walker said: “I feel in certain parts of the country I do, but it's about opinions.
“Just look at Trent, Joao Cancelo and Reece James. We're blessed in this league to have the array of full-backs that we do. I just try to go out and do the job and the things I'm good at. My main objective is stopping goals and making sure we don't concede goals and get a clean sheet.”
Walker has no doubts that working with Guardiola has helped him develop as a player and a professional. He didn’t expect to be hitting the heights he is at the age of 32. “I feel fantastic,” said Walker. “If you said to me at 21 that I'd still be playing Premier League football at 32, at the standard I'm playing at, I'd have probably said ‘no’.
“Was I living a little bit different to what I am now? One million per cent. But now I'm looking after myself the best I can. I feel healthy and fit, I feel quick still and sharp. I'm still eager to learn.
“Whenever there's a question to ask the manager or something I feel I can improve on, I'm the first to ask him and make sure that's something I can do to benefit the team. We can all play football in the Premier League, but it's the 10 per cent that makes a difference between being a good Premier League full-back to a world-class one.
“I think it’s a mental thing, keeping your head on the game. You train for an hour-and-a-half each day and you need to make sure you're concentrating for every minute so that you can perform on a Saturday. Live right on and off the field, and just dedicate yourself to the game.”
It says everything about how important Walker is to City that there is a belief at the Etihad that they would have reached the Champions League final had he not been forced off in both legs of the semi-final by injury. It was only in his absence that Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior gave Guardiola’s side serious problems.
Walker played through the pain barrier in the second leg in the Bernabeu - and paid the price by missing the dramatic last-day win over Aston Villa. Look closely and you can see the Yorkshireman racing down the touchline when Ilkay Gundogan scored the winner.
Walker said: “If the fans weren't there I could have carried on all the way back to Sheffield. I remember turning round to Jack (Grealish) when we were 2-0 down and he's looking at me thinking ‘what's happened here.’
“I took a risk playing in the second leg against Madrid, but to get to a Champions League final sometimes you have to sacrifice as much as you can. I'm not talking a sob story, but these are lads I spend day in day out with.
“Each and every one of us through some part of my five years here has put their body on the line. That's what I had to do on that day. Would I have played in the final? Good question. We didn’t win the semi, but if we had got through I can assure you I would have definitely played in the final.”
