Walker: ‘Excited to be in Serie A and bring leadership qualities to Milan’ | OneFootball

Kyle Walker is ‘excited to play’ for Milan in Serie A and confirms he wants to bring his ‘leadership qualities on and off the pitch’ after his experience at Manchester City.

The trip to Empoli kicks off at the Stadio Castellani at 17.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game, Verona-Atalanta and Torino-Genoa on the Liveblog.

Since he first completed the transfer from Manchester City, Walker has been a regular in the starting XI at right-back for coach Sergio Conceicao, in part aided by the absence of injured Emerson Royal.

“It’s my first away game in Italy for this great club, but we need to build on the good result we had midweek in the cup and hopefully we can get a good result here today,” the England international told DAZN.

Walker already a regular at Milan

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 02: Kyle Walker of AC Milan battles for possession with Federico Dimarco of FC Internazionale during the Serie A match between AC Milan and FC Internazionale at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 02, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The Rossoneri are fresh off a midweek Coppa Italia victory, beating Roma 3-1 in the quarter-final, and before that were held to a last-gasp 1-1 draw by Inter in the Serie A Derby della Madonnina.

“I’m excited to be here, excited to play in this league. We played against Inter and Roma, this is going to be a different test, so we need to make sure we’ve got the same fighting spirit and enthusiasm,” added Walker.

Many have said that the 34-year-old was brought in also for his leadership qualities and experience, both things that were sorely lacking so far this season in the rest of the squad.

“It’s important, I was the captain at Manchester City and I bring these qualities to Milan. Hopefully, the younger players see me as a leader and I bring these qualities on and off the pitch.”