Kyle Walker Scouting Report At AC Milan: How The Man City Legend Boosts Sérgio Conceição Tactics

AC Milan announced the loan transfer of the English international Kyle Walker a few days ago, with the option to buy five million euros in the summer, according to Sky Sports Italy.

This move represents a huge upgrade for Milan regarding the right-back position since the Italian side has been suffering from lows and highs in the form of the players holding that position.

Captain Davide Calabria and the recently signed Emerson Royal both failed to regularly deliver top performances in Serie A and the UEFA Champions League games.

Even though Emerson Royal succeeded in putting on some convincing performances in some of the games during the first half of this season, he failed to remain consistent with his performances. He did not always add the necessary upgrades in attack and defence.

Likewise, Calabria’s experience in Serie A was not sufficient to convince everyone at Milan, knowing that his performances remain limited in both defence and attack.

That’s why having a world-class right-back like Walker would benefit Milan a lot in the second half of the season, especially in the UEFA Champions League and Serie A.

In addition, Walkers signing comes at the right moment, as Royal got injured recently, and Milan is actually short of choices for the right-back position, with Calabria being the only player for that role before Walkers arrival.

Therefore, Walker will certainly make Milan’s defence more balanced as he will certainly represent an upgrade in attack thanks to his attacking addition.

With Theo Hernández as a left-back and Kyle Walker as a right-back, AC Milan head coach Sérgio Conceição will use these two world-class full-backs to make the team more balanced and more dangerous upfront by exploiting Walkers excellent playmaking traits in the same way he does with Hernández.

At the same time, finding the right defensive balance and knowing when to attack with both full-backs and when to instruct one of them to remain in defence will be the challenge that Conceição should pass in the coming period.

In this tactical analysis scout report, we will explore Walker’s main traits as a right-back, his defensive abilities, playmaking attributes, and what he can add to Milan’s offensive and defensive tactics in the second half of this season.

The analysis will also compare Kyle Walkers playing style versus Davide Calabria since Royal will be absent during the coming period due to injury and, more importantly, because the latter is expected to leave Milanello during this transfer window.

Kyle Walker Vs Davide Calabria

Walker clearly has an advantage over Calabria in terms of player profiles, mainly thanks to being a key player for a long period at a very successful club like Manchester City.

Having contributed extensively to most of the Citizens’ domestic EPL successes and having participated in most, if not all, of Manchester City’s key games in the UEFA Champions League throughout these last years definitely confirms that Walker is among the best in his position.

At the same time, we cannot undermine Calabria’s experience or the fact that he has been very important for Milan on numerous occasions, especially during the difficult periods that the team had to go through.

Nevertheless, in terms of abilities, Kyle Walkers style of play has more speed, is more agile, and can dribble better than Calabia, in addition to being more powerful and solid physically.

However, both players are almost equal in terms of one-on-one defending, as they have proved on numerous occasions and against world-class wingers that they can be very difficult to beat in defensive duels, with a slight advantage for Walker.

The following radar comparison, based on last season’s statistics, shows that Walker is also better in aerial duels, given that he is taller than Calabria.

However, in terms of positioning, Calabria can be considered a more disciplined defender who usually positions himself very well, especially in the defensive phase.

Therefore, a little bit of work will be needed from Conceição in order to adapt Walker’s positioning to the team’s needs since there will certainly be a difference between Pep Guardiola’s tactics at Manchester City and Conceição’s tactics at Milan, especially regarding the right-back’s roles and needed missions per match.

Apart from that aspect, we can confirm that Walker will represent a huge asset to the team in attack.

His passing accuracy is higher than both Calabrias and Royal’s, and more importantly, his key passing, vision, and creativity in the opponent’s half make him a more valuable choice for Milan.

Furthermore, according to the statistics, Calabria’s attempts at goal are higher than Walkers.

Perhaps this is the aspect where Calabia has the advantage over Walker: the Italian right-back often attempts shooting from a distance.

At the same time, Walker resorts to shooting only when he finds himself in very inviting shooting opportunities.

That being said, Calabria’s shooting attempts have rarely resulted in goals in the last few seasons.

Walker’s tactical awareness, pace, dribbling, excellent passing, and strength in defensive duels definitely make him the favourite for the right-back role at Milan.

Kyle Walker Vs Davide Calabria Stats Comparison

Kyle Walker’s Defensive Abilities 

With 3.86 interceptions per match, 58.3% aerial duels won, and 62.2% defensive duels won, we can confirm that Walker is among the top right-backs in terms of defensive performances, especially regarding the balance he can add to any back-four or back-three.

His remarkable pace, quick reflexes, and tactical intelligence allow him to anticipate his direct opponent’s next move and execute the necessary action to intercept the ball or prevent the opponent from advancing with it.

The following example taken from the game against