Man City and England star namechecks Sunderland, Leeds United and Newcastle as most 'passionate' grounds

England and Manchester City star Kyle Walker has namechecked Sunderland, Leeds United and Newcastle United as having some of the most passionate atmospheres in the country.

Gareth Southgate’s men recently defeated Bosnia 3-0 at St James’ Park with goals from Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Kane. Walker, however, watched the game from afar having been handed a break following the FA Cup final.

He told the You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker podcast: “I like [Manchester] United. Old Trafford. I like going there. We’ve been fortunate to get the results we have done, especially over your rivals. But even when I played at Tottenham, it probably didn’t come off as well as it has done over recent years but I still always enjoyed going to Old Trafford. I like St James’ Park as well. I just think ‘What a ground’.”

Walker then mentioned Sunderland’s Stadium of Light whilst speaking with co-host and Love Island star Chris Hughes, who is a big Black Cats fan. The Sheffield-born defender also recognised Newcastle, Leeds, and Sunderland as “passionate” one-club cities.

“Sunderland’s weren’t bad, I don’t mind Sunderland’s. And I like Villa’s, maybe because I played there,” Walker continued. “You don’t hear certain things. You go to Anfield and there’s the ‘Never Walk Alone’, you hear these things because they’re at the start of the game but apart from that, you don’t really hear much because you’re just so in the zone of concentrating.

“For the fans, they’re definitely sets of fans that you’d put right up there. The one-team cities, Sunderland, Newcastle, Leeds - these fans are so passionate.”