Comment: Sheffield United, Man City & Bayern Munich Kyle Walker 'tug of war' reminds what counts

The England defender, who has made no secret of the fact he wants to finish his career at Bramall Lane, has emerged as a serious target for Bayern Munich with the German giants close to reaching a verbal agreement over a contract.

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But City, where Walker is said to have grown disillusioned by his playing time during what proved a treble-winning campaign, are reportedly happy to extend his deal and - given how these things work - guarantee a significant salary increase too. Meanwhile, there are reports that Liverpool could be ready to step into the breach if neither of those things transpire.

Suddenly, as some of the biggest names in European football court Walker’s services, United are nowhere in the conversation. One suspects they will sign the player one day, when emotion dictates negotiations rather than trophy opportunities and pound notes. Aged 33, however, Walker is still at the peak of his powers and will fancy adding some more medals to the 15 he has won since turning professional at Bramall Lane a decade-and-a-half ago. Plus, given his association with United and relationship with the fans, he knows he can pretty much return there at a time of his choosing. Which he almost certainly will.

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Although United manager Paul Heckingbottom will have smiled at the stories suggesting he was seriously involved in the tug-of-war between City and Bayern, events over the past few days reveal one of the challenges he will face this summer. The ability to pay big wages, not transfer fees, is what matters in the market now. Particularly given how assiduously agents design their clients’ contracts, inserting all sorts of beneficial clauses into their terms and conditions. Clubs do the same too, as they protect their own interests.

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It does not take an investigative journalist of Nick Davies’ calibre to realise that, having handed Heckingbottom a recruitment budget of around £20m, United aren’t flush with cash. Which is why they should be thankful for the imagination both he and his chief talent spotter Paul Mitchell have demonstrated in the past - luring a series of successful loan and niche signings, such as Anel Ahmedhodzic, to South Yorkshire in the past.

Those, rather than high-profile and headline grabbing captures such as Walker, will form the rump of their work ahead of the new Premier League campaign. Some possibilities have been identified already, with the names being handed to United’s board of directors and representatives of United World - which owner Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud uses to control his portfolio of sporting interests - in Geneva last month.

Walker made 35 appearances for United at the beginning of his career, all but two of which came after he was sold to Tottenham Hotspur and then loaned back to them as a youngster. He will surely retire with more on his CV. But the economic factors dictate, barring an extraordinary turn of events, that will be after he’s grabbed more medals under either Pep Guardiola or Thomas Tuchel.

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