In the summer of 2022, Manchester City broke the bank to afford the promising Kalvin Phillips. The young midfielder arrived at the reigning English Champion from Leeds for the sum of 54.5 million euros. A big investment for the 26-year-old English international (at the time) who was supposed to strengthen the Cityzens midfield. But he never knew how to integrate into his new team with only 21 matches (590 minutes played) in his first season.
This year again, it does not really fit into the plans of Pep Guardiola who took responsibility for the failure at a press conference. “Marcelo Bielsa gave Kalvin the best of his career. I would have loved to do with Kalvin what Marcelo did to him. We have our own way of playing and he struggles with certain things sometimes, whereas the old Leeds style of play was perfect for him. The club spoke to him because he didn’t have many minutes. “He said ‘no, I want to stay.’ We brought Kalvin here for his qualities. He is open-minded, always wants to learn and wants to help. That’s what we want to try to do.” An honest analysis.
