'A dream' - Sheffield United return in the sights of Burnley defender and ex-Manchester City star Kyle Walker
Burnley defender Kyle Walker has set his sights on an emotional return to boyhood club Sheffield United.
The 35-year-old cut his teeth within the Sheffield United academy and is among the Steel City’s greatest sporting exports.
He only made 35 senior appearances for the Blades before going on to reach dizzy heights with Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and the England national team.
Walker recently retired from international football but has no intention of hanging up his boots completely just yet.
He is currently embroiled in a battle for Premier League survival with Burnley - and wants a move to back to Bramall Lane before he retires.
Sheffield United return dream
Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, he said: “I’d like to keep playing for another few years. It’s always been a dream to play for Sheffield United again.
“To start there at six years old and then leaving at 19 – I spent so many incredible years there.
“I hope to play for them again. I don’t know when that will be. I don’t know if they will want me.”
Walker was lured away from South Yorkshire by Tottenham Hotspur in 2009, although Spurs did sanction a loan move back to Bramall Lane.
He went on to make 229 appearances for Tottenham, eventually securing a reported £50m move to Manchester City in 2017.
The jet-heeled right-back left the Etihad Stadium last summer after seeing out the final months of his contract on loan at AC Milan.
Kyle Walker on his future
Although Walker still has the desire, he has conceded he does not want his career to peter out in a manner not befitting of his stature in the sport.
He said: “I don’t know if I’ll continue playing for a few more years. I feel once that time in my head comes where I’m done, I’d have to be true to myself. Leave the game before the game leaves you.
“I’m 36 in May, but I’m feeling good. It takes longer to recover, I can tell you that. One million per cent.
“And probably now I’m probably doing a lot more defending than I’ve ever done in my career, but I feel good. It’s more for me upstairs and you fight your little battles in your head if you can keep doing it.
“I don’t want to tarnish what I’ve done but I also have a level of respect for myself that I’ll do it on my terms. I’m not letting outside noise reflect what I want to do as a footballer because it’s a short career and people don’t understand that.
“It’s been [ingrained] in us from the age of six when I started. I never played grassroots. I played [for] Sheffield United and that was it. Suddenly, if you take that away from me, what am I going to do? What do I go into?
“I’ve not done anything else in my whole entire life except football, so it’s a big part of me and to let it go, it’s hard. But sometimes you have to let it go when you’re not good enough anymore.”