Only two seasons ago, Kalvin Phillips was seen as one of England's rising stars and one of the best defensive midfielders in the country. He became famous with his old team, Leeds United.
Phillips was an important part of Marcelo Bielsa's team that got Leeds promoted to the Premier League in 2020. He then made a name for himself in the top league and helped England reach the final COVID-delayed Euro 2020 a year later.Several top Premier League teams were interested in the Yorkshireman's great play. Still, champions Manchester City paid an initial £42m to sign the midfielder in the summer of 2022 after Fernandinho left.
Man City's head of football, Txiki Begiristain, said the club had "long admired" Phillips. When the midfielder joined, Begiristain called Phillips a "formidable talent" and a "superb addition" to Pep Guardiola's team who would "perfectly complement our game."
Many people thought that Phillips' move to the Etihad Stadium would be the best thing for his career. The midfielder was excited about the chance to improve his game under Guardiola, who used to be a deep-lying maestro, but it's safe to say that his time at Man City has been a huge disappointment.
Phillips came to Man City with a shoulder injury. He only played four times in all competitions before Guardiola called him "overweight" after returning from captaining England at the 2022 World Cup in December.
Phillips had to play second fiddle to Rodri because of injuries and Rodri's great play as a center lynchpin. Guardiola calls Rodri "unique" and the best player in the world in his position.
Even though Phillips only started four of his 21 games in all competitions during his first season at Man City, which was a memorable treble-winning season for the club, he still wanted to stay at the Etihad and fight for his spot under Guardiola after a frustrating year of injuries.
Phillips' luck did not get better, though, as he only played 89 minutes of Premier League football and did not make a single start in the first half of the season.
Not long after, it was clear that Guardiola no longer needed the midfielder. He changed his ever-changing Citizens philosophy and started natural defenders like John Stones, Manuel Akanji, and Rico Lewis in a hybrid midfield role instead of the Yorkshireman, who stayed on the bench.
Not long after Phillips turned 28, Man City sent the player out on loan for the second half of the 2023–24 season so that he could play more regularly with the first team. In January, West Ham United beat out other teams to sign Phillips.
Phillips said that he felt "useless" during his difficult time away from the Man City first team and was "very sad" when he knew that "the next step had to be to move on" after completing his move to West Ham.
West Ham had high hopes that they could get the best out of Phillips and revive his career, but he had a terrible time during his short time at the London Stadium, where he played poorly in 10 games and was criticized by many Hammers fans.
Phillips wasn't picked for the England squad for Euro 2024, which wasn't a surprise. West Ham also didn't exercise the reported £40 million option-to-buy clause in Phillips' loan agreement, so the midfielder has since returned to the Citizens with his future uncertain.
Is Kalvin Phillips going to stay at Man City?
Phillips was picked for Man City's pre-season tour of the United States. The group was smaller than usual because many first-team stars took longer breaks after their international games earlier this summer.
Phillips played in all four of City's friendly games against Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona, and Chelsea, starting three for 266 minutes. This is a big difference from the first half of last season when he played 306 minutes across all competitions for City.
Phillips worked hard during preseason to get in the best shape possible. He started the tour as a midfielder, but for City's last two friendlies against Barcelona and Chelsea, he played as an unconventional center-back and impressed with his passing range in both games.
Guardiola recently talked about Phillips's future and explained why he played defense. On July 31, he told reporters, "I do not know what is going to happen with his situation."
"He helped us a lot with our troubles. Someone I know, Kalvin, is a great player. He can see the whole field when he has the ball. When he's in small places, things get worse.
With all the problems we have, that's why he puts so much effort into his job. He was sure of himself with the ball, which greatly helped us. I am thrilled with how he did.
"We have a lot of central defenders when we have all of them." Because of this, it's not his job. We'll see. He's now helping us, which is good.
Phillips played well in the preseason, but it is thought that Guardiola will not bring him back into City's first team for the new season. Instead, the Citizens will try to loan or permanently move the Yorkshireman this summer.
However, Man City already has a lot of options in defense, and Guardiola has said that Phillips has only played center-back when Stones, Akanji, Ruben Dias, and Nathan Ake have been out. Teenage midfielder Nico O'Reilly has been impressive in preseason, which could make Phillips even lower on the team's priority list.
Sky Sports News says Phillips isn't set in stone about his future, but there have been no official moves about a possible departure from Man City.
Philips is being watched by several teams in England and other countries, but Galatasaray, one of the biggest clubs in Turkey, is not currently on the midfielder's list of options.
Everton is one of the teams reportedly looking into signing Phillips. The Toffees are known to be looking for a new midfielder after Amadou Onana's £50 million move to Aston Villa.
Phillips has also been linked with moves abroad, with Roma, RB Leipzig, and Red Bull Salzburg all reportedly interested. However, Everton are thought to be the team most eager to sign the player this summer.
Man City would rather sell Phillips this summer and get back as much of the £42m they paid for the player two years ago, but Everton would rather talk about a season-long loan deal because they are having money problems.
Phillips could start over with Everton, a great club for him.
Everton and other teams that want to sign Phillips are having trouble because of how the Citizens handle him. Phillips still has four years left on his £150,000-a-week deal at the Etihad.
However, because the Premier League champions want to get rid of their No. 4, their terms could become less strict near the end of the transfer window. This would make the midfielder a cheaper choice for Everton, who are short on cash.
Former Everton scout Bryan King has backed a move for Phillips to Sean Dyche's team. He told Goodison News, "I think that a player like that would do well at Goodison Park."
"He is a brave player who works hard and fights for every ball. Everton fans love athletes like him." It would be great if he could get his career back on track and perform at the same level as before.
Phillips is now in the best years of his career and can't afford to sit on the bench for another year. He would be better off moving to a club like Everton, where he would be sure to play regularly with the first team.
It's still possible for teams to sign Phillips, but only for a little less than four weeks.
Phillips played in all four of City's friendly games against Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona, and Chelsea, starting three for 266 minutes. This is a big difference from the first half of last season when he played 306 minutes across all competitions for City.
Phillips worked hard during preseason to get in the best shape possible. He started the tour as a midfielder, but for City's last two friendlies against Barcelona and Chelsea, he played as an unconventional center-back and impressed with his passing range in both games.
Guardiola recently talked about Phillips's future and explained why he played defense. On July 31, he told reporters, "I do not know what is going to happen with his situation."
"He helped us a lot with our troubles. Someone I know, Kalvin, is a great player. He can see the whole field when he has the ball. When he's in small places, things get worse.
With all the problems we have, that's why he puts so much effort into his job. He was sure of himself with the ball, which greatly helped us. I am thrilled with how he did.
"We have a lot of central defenders when we have all of them." Because of this, it's not his job. We'll see. He's now helping us, which is good.
Phillips played well in the preseason, but it is thought that Guardiola will not bring him back into City's first team for the new season. Instead, the Citizens will try to loan or permanently move the Yorkshireman this summer.
However, Man City already has a lot of options in defense, and Guardiola has said that Phillips has only played center-back when Stones, Akanji, Ruben Dias, and Nathan Ake have been out. Teenage midfielder Nico O'Reilly has been impressive in preseason, which could make Phillips even lower on the team's priority list.
Sky Sports News says Phillips isn't set in stone about his future, but there have been no official moves about a possible departure from Man City.
Philips is being watched by several teams in England and other countries, but Galatasaray, one of the biggest clubs in Turkey, is not currently on the midfielder's list of options.
Everton is one of the teams reportedly looking into signing Phillips. The Toffees are known to be looking for a new midfielder after Amadou Onana's £50 million move to Aston Villa.
Phillips has also been linked with moves abroad, with Roma, RB Leipzig, and Red Bull Salzburg all reportedly interested. However, Everton are thought to be the team most eager to sign the player this summer.
Man City would rather sell Phillips this summer and get back as much of the £42m they paid for the player two years ago, but Everton would rather talk about a season-long loan deal because they are having money problems.
Phillips could start over with Everton, a great club for him.
Everton and other teams that want to sign Phillips are having trouble because of how the Citizens handle him. Phillips still has four years left on his £150,000-a-week deal at the Etihad.
However, because the Premier League champions want to get rid of their No. 4, their terms could become less strict near the end of the transfer window. This would make the midfielder a cheaper choice for Everton, who are short on cash.
Former Everton scout Bryan King has backed a move for Phillips to Sean Dyche's team. He told Goodison News, "I think that a player like that would do well at Goodison Park."
"He is a brave player who works hard and fights for every ball. Everton fans love athletes like him." It would be great if he could get his career back on track and perform at the same level as before.
Phillips is now in the best years of his career and can't afford to sit on the bench for another year. He would be better off moving to a club like Everton, where he would be sure to play regularly with the first team.
It's still possible for teams to sign Phillips, but only for a little less than four weeks.
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