Sparkling in Leeds under the orders of Marcelo Bielsa, Kalvin Phillips (27) thought he would take a step forward in his career by joining Manchester City during the summer of 2022. With the Peacocks, the English midfielder managed to obtain his first caps in national selection at 24. By joining Pep Guardiola, he hoped to consolidate his status with the Three Lions and prove that he belonged at one of the best clubs in Europe.
A failure at €57 million
Unfortunately for him, the €57 million paid by City was not enough to make him a starter for the Skyblues. Since playing in the northwest of England, Phillips has only made two starts and only fifteen appearances in the Premier League (0 goals, 0 assists). A terrible result given the investment made by City. Added to this was a falling out with Guardiola. The Spaniard did not hesitate to publicly declare that his player was overweight, which logically annoyed the main person concerned.
“To be honest, it was a bit difficult to accept, just because of how much media coverage it got and how many people started talking about it. I know the manager made his comments and stuff like that, but I respected them. For me, I wasn’t overweight, but obviously the manager saw it in a different way. (…) My situation has changed. I don’t expect to be in the team or to start.”, Phillips said last July. Under contract until 2028, Kalvin Phillips then seemed to be heading towards a departure, especially as Liverpool and Bayern Munich were on the move. In the end, the player did not move, preferring to stay to take on this major challenge.
A rebound in Germany?
Used five times in the thirteen official matches played by City since the start of the season, Phillips is still far from having won his bet. “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.”Guardiola confided on September 27, the day of the player’s only start of the season (defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup).
Will Kalvin Phillips tolerate this situation until the end of the season? The Sun tells us that Bayern Munich intends to take advantage of the opportunity to negotiate again an undesirable deal with Manchester City during the next winter transfer window. Like what the Bavarians did in January 2023 with João Cancelo, they would like to loan the English midfielder. If the player is attracted, the deal will be likely to succeed, because City are open to a loan. In Germany, he would find a certain Harry Kane and above all a coach more than ever eager to flesh out an unconvincing midfield.
