The midfielder has swelled his medal collection but has barely featured for the team in a miserable 18 months at the Etihad Stadium
Kalvin Phillips' transfer to Manchester City made perfect sense in the summer of 2022. The midfielder had honed his playing style under Marcelo Bielsa, one of Pep Guardiola's coaching mentors, at Leeds United, and become an England regular after playing a key role in the Three Lions' success at the European Championship.
The £42 million ($53m) transfer fee was not small but not wildly expensive either for an England international who already had plenty of Premier League experience, and it was expected that Phillips would have a short adaptation period before locking down a regular place in Guardiola's winning machine.
But instead, Phillips' time at City has been a huge ordeal for everyone involved. The 28-year-old has made just six starts in all competitions in 18 months, averaging out at £7m per appearance in Guardiola's line-up. And he has not shone in any of them, with City losing half of the matches he has started. The player's stock has taken an almighty tumble, although he is still a member of Gareth Southgate's squad and expected to go to Euro 2024, to the chagrin of many fans.
The move has also been difficult to digest for City. The club pride themselves on their transfer activity, only making a signing to address an urgent need in the squad and when it suits them long-term. Phillips has simply not fit within Guardiola's vision for his team and, as he leaves to join West Ham on loan, he will go down as one of the worst signings the serial-winning coach has ever made.
As Phillips' stay with City ends – at least temporarily – GOAL charts the midfielder's nightmare 18 months at the Etihad Stadium…
GettyInjured on his full debut
Following his arrival from Elland Road, Phillips was an unused substitute in City's 2022 Community Shield defeat to Liverpool and came on for just a few minutes in their Premier League opener against West Ham, making his first start for his new side in a friendly against Barcelona.
But after making a positive first impression at Camp Nou, disaster struck when he was forced off with a shoulder injury.
AdvertisementGettyUnder the knife
He played no further games for a month after the injury, but returned to action in the Champions League away to Sevilla as a substitute and also came off the bench at home to Borussia Dortmund a week later.
But shortly afterwards, it was decided that Phillips needed surgery to treat his shoulder problem, which put him out of action for just under two months, only returning in early November for the Carabao Cup win over Chelsea.
Getty'Overweight' accusations after the World Cup
Despite his long period out, Phillips was selected by Southgate for the World Cup in Qatar, coming on against Wales and Senegal although playing no part in England's quarter-final defeat by France. But Guardiola was not happy with Phillips and he was strangely absent from the City squad when the season resumed.
When asked about Phillips, the coach made a surprise revelation. He said: "He's not injured. He arrived overweight. He didn't arrive in the condition to do training sessions and to play." Phillips has since claimed he was not overweight, and admitted he found the criticism "hard to take".
GettyAnother rebuke from Guardiola
He quickly set about returning to full fitness and was on the bench for City's next game at Leeds, although he was not brought on. It became a familiar story throughout the campaign, even as Guardiola began to make more use of his squad players in the Premier League run-in as the games came thick and fast in the team's quest to win the treble.
Phillips instead received another rebuke from Guardiola, with the coach urging him to provide more competition for Rodri, who had become an indisputable starter despite the Englishman's arrival. “He has to fight with Rodri, for the benefit of all of us," the City coach said in January. "Rodri cannot sleep and must have the feeling there is someone close to him to do it. He has to."
