BANJARMASINPOST.CO.ID – Manchester City will allow Kalvin Phillips to leave on loan for the remainder of the season after a deal was reached with West Ham.
It feels like an unfortunate reflection of Kalvin Phillips and his short time at Manchester City that a player who decided to move on in January might not get competitive results this month.
Despite strong interest from various clubs before the winter transfer window opened, Phillips flew back from Abu Dhabi on Tuesday alongside Pep Guardiola and his City team-mates with a deal yet to be agreed.
West Ham are increasingly confident they can find an agreement, even though their next match will not be held until February 1.
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City have paid a big price for Phillips as they don’t want to give the respected England international away on the cheap, but it’s been a strange nightmare during his time at the Etihad that there’s no need to replace him.
In contrast to last year’s furore when Joao Cancelo was brought to Bayern on loan, Phillips will be allowed to leave without much ado.
This was mainly because he never found a place in the City team. Despite all the positive reception to his £45m move from Leeds in the summer of 2022.
He was hardly trusted to play under Guardiola and when he did, it is hard to recall a convincing performance.
Instead, Mateo Kovacic arrived this summer and easily assumed duties as Rodri’s assistant immediately on the pre-season tour.
Despite some mistakes this season, he is well ahead of Phillips in the pecking order.
Likewise with Rico Lewis, who has almost exclusively played in midfield this season – including the big Premier League game against Arsenal when Rodri was suspended.
It was a week where Phillips was touted as a big opportunity, but he only started one of three games.
Guardiola recently suggested that Phillips could be an option in a chaotic game – an inherently damning assessment from a manager who craves control in every game.
But the Blues now have their own agent of chaos in Matheus Nunes.
Source: Banjarmasin Post
