Playing for England may be the best thing for Manchester City's captain

Playing for England may be the best thing for Manchester City’s captain

While the international break has allowed some of Manchester City’s players to get some much-needed rest, in the case of other City players, they need games to build their way into the season. One of those is Manchester City’s captain Kyle Walker. While Jack Grealish and Phil Foden withdrew from international duty, Kyle Walker stayed to play for his country. Perhaps that is the best thing for Walker as attempts to build his way into this season.

Kyle Walker started for England last night in their 3-nil win over Greece. While he wasn’t outstanding he got through 90 minutes and helped Lee Carsley’s side keep a clean sheet. Walker started at right-back, then played the second half as a centre-back. Walker’s performance was promising from a City point of view as he got through the game and was more than serviceable for his country.

So far this season Kyle Walker has not been at his best. His recent performances against Bournemouth and Brighton did give the impression that he may come towards the end of his career. But even if that is the case Walker does have a massive role to play for the Pep Guardiola. First of all, he is Manchester City’s captain. Having that title alone shows how important Walker is to Manchester City.

Secondly, City needs their captain to quickly return to his best. They can’t afford to have Walker off the boil. Playing for England allows the City’s captain to find his form and fitness. That has been lacking from Walker’s game for City as his lack of pre-season and summer exertions have taken a toll on the England international.

But playing for England could be the best thing for Kyle Walker. He needs games to find his best form. Playing potentially two games for England may kickstart Walker’s season. That is the hope for City’s captain over the international break.

Tags England Greece Jack Grealish Kyle Walker Lee Carsley Manchester City Pep Guardiola Phil Foden Rico Lewis UEFA Nations League