Kyle Walker holds talks with Mauricio Pochettino over Tottenham future as Manchester City and Manchester United circle

EXCLUSIVE
Key player: Kyle Walker, in action against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday, has caught the eye of both Manchester clubs and Barcelona
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images
Tom Collomosse24 April 2017

Kyle Walker has held talks with Mauricio Pochettino to discuss his future at Tottenham amid interest from Manchester City.

The defender has been a key player for Spurs in each of the last two seasons, playing a vital role in both attack and defence. He has also become England’s first-choice right-back in that time.

The 26-year-old, who signed a new contract worth about £70,000 a week last September, understands his importance to Tottenham but is also aware of interest in him from elsewhere.

Both City and Manchester United are keen to strengthen in the summer and have targeted Walker.

Barcelona have also scouted him this season as they seek to revamp their squad during the summer.

City, in particular, are desperate to sign a new right-back and also have Serge Aurier, of Paris St Germain, and Monaco’s Djibril Sidibe on their list.

Standard Sport understands Walker sought a meeting with manager Pochettino to understand the club’s plans for the years ahead.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Tottenham | 22/04/17

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Though Walker is happy at Spurs, he is keenly aware of his value and knows that a move would bring a substantial pay rise. At this stage, there appears little chance Tottenham would allow Walker to leave. Earlier this season, there was talk of both Manchester clubs trying to sign Walker and Danny Rose, his Spurs team-mate, in a joint £60million deal. It is far more likely that any buying club would need to offer close to that sum for just one of the players.

Despite Tottenham’s FA Cup semi-final defeat by Chelsea at the weekend, the club have still had a fine season and remain in the title race. They are four points adrift of leaders Chelsea with six games remaining. All the key players have at least two years remaining on their contracts and Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is a ferocious negotiator with would-be buyers.

But Walker is not the only player thought to be examining his options. Rose has also spoken to Pochettino about the interest in him elsewhere — as he told Standard Sport in an exclusive interview in January. Toby Alderweireld has, meanwhile, demanded pay parity — at the least — with top earners Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane, who collect £100,000 per week. Alderweireld is another who has been made aware that he could earn far more than his £50,000-a-week salary at another club.

It may be a busy summer for Levy, especially as he tries to move forward with the £800m stadium project. In the short term, Spurs must try to overhaul Chelsea — starting with Wednesday night’s trip to Crystal Palace.

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