Cesc Fabregas has hinted at the fact that Pep Guardiola simply did not feel Kalvin Phillips was at the required level for a Manchester City player.
Considering the Premier League champions had forked out a £42 million (The Athletic) fee to sign Phillips, many wonder why he barely played any football at the Etihad Stadium.
Was it Manchester City’s system that the 28-year-old failed to fit into, his failure to push Rodri for minutes or Pep Guardiola not fancying his game that led to his struggles?
Well, there seems to be a hint of truth to every such possible question.
Cesc Fabregas hints Pep Guardiola did not think Kalvin Phillips was good enough
In August, it was reported that Guardiola and his staff were stunned to see how little progress the Englishman was making in terms of understanding his tactical demands.
So much so that the coaches at the club felt that Romeo Lavia was a better fit as per their requirements from a number six than the treble-winner, into his spell with the Sky Blues.
Initially, Cesc Fabregas broke down why he believes Kalvin Phillips struggled to adapt to the Pep Guardiola way of playing at Manchester City.
“Yeah, but because he is very structured, Pep [Guardiola]. He is very meticulous about everything and for example, he was coming from Leeds and you watch Leeds play, everything is like all over the place. So much energy and you go to the right and you go to the left, you go forward, you defend, you know, Pep hates this because for him, he would say that this is very anarchic.”
“He likes to have everything under control, with the ball, without the ball and for example, Leeds was completely the opposite. I remember when Jack Grealish, for example, he was everything at Aston Villa. He could move wherever he wanted and all of a sudden, you have a coach that tells you, ‘No, you stay on the line and you wait for the ball to come’ when he was doing exactly the opposite at Aston Villa. So, it does take time, yeah”, he said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Planet Premier League podcast.
When it was mentioned that in all fairness, Kalvin Phillips was competing with arguably the world’s best defensive midfielder in Rodri, who Pep Guardiola rates extremely highly as well, Cesc Fabregas replied, “Yes but I don’t totally agree.”
“If you are good enough, you will play. It doesn’t matter whoever is in front of you. If the manager sees that you are good enough to make a difference, you’ll be in.”
“Or at least he’ll be in more than what he’s done because I remember him not playing at all and then all of a sudden being called up by England, by the national team and playing games for England. I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ So that’s why I could sometimes hear Pep talk about him and then like Nedum [Onuoha] said, hearing stories that actually, he’s quite good and professional and trying his best.”
“So, something didn’t match in a way and maybe it’s just not meant to be.”
Cesc Fabregas has a point
The suggestion Cesc Fabregas seems to be making about why things did not work for Kalvin Phillips under Pep Guardiola is one that is tough to deny, in our view.
Ultimately, managers find ways to fit players into their teams, at least far more than was the case with Phillips as they trust them to impact their side positively.
In December, Pep Guardiola admitted that the way he foresees his team playing, he believes the Premier League winner would “struggle” to suit his plan.
Whether it be Phillips’ natural quality or his ability to follow instructions, it seems like Guardiola just did not fancy him as a player for various reasons, as Fabregas hinted.
