Kalvin Phillips must feel upset after being left on the bench by Pep Guardiola for the entirety of Manchester City’s 3-1 win over West Ham.
The England international was named amongst the substitutes, but was not given a second of action.
So, what are our thoughts on Kalvin Phillips? Let’s dig a little deeper…
What’s the story?
Well, the 27-year-old has rarely started in the Premier League for Manchester City following his £45m move from Leeds United in July 2022.
Phillips only started two Premier League games in the 2022/23 campaign, and is yet to start in the Premier League this season.
However, the Yorkshire Pirlo – as he was affectionately nicknamed at Elland Road – surely thought he would get a few minutes at the London Stadium on Saturday, with Mateo Kovacic and Kevin De Bruyne out injured.
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Phillips also started England’s 3-1 win over Scotland on Tuesday, so he was ready to step in.
Despite that, Guardiola did not even decide to give him a short cameo, even after Erling Haaland sealed all three points in the 86th minute, which surely upset the Manchester City No.4 in east London.
Kalvin Phillips tipped to leave Manchester City
As a result of his lack of playing time, Phillips has been tipped to leave the Etihad Stadium in January by an unnamed football agent.
The anonymous figure partook in The Athletic‘s analysis of the summer transfer window, in which they used their vote on Phillips when it came to the section involving the most likely January deals to happen.
We can’t help but agree.
Ultimately, it all depends on what Phillips wants at this stage of his career.
The Leeds-born maestro can opt to stay at Manchester City and hoover up a potential sextuple of trophies this season, or leave to become a key player elsewhere once again, like he was in Yorkshire.
Hopefully, Phillips is not feeling too demoralised after Guardiola overlooked him on Saturday.