Craig Burley believes Kalvin Phillips made a blunder of a decision by signing for Manchester City in the first place.
Tony Cascarino claimed that players like the 28-year-old should always opt to join clubs where they are guaranteed regular minutes.
After one and a half seasons at City where the Englishman barely got a sniff, he is now at West Ham on loan, who have failed to win a single Premier League game in their last six outings, including a recent 6-0 battering to Arsenal.
It seems like Lady Luck has not been on Phillips’ side for a while now.
Craig Burley says Kalvin Phillips should have never joined Manchester City
Perhaps Kalvin Phillips was under the assumption that he could find a way in Pep Guardiola’s plans, despite Rodri’s presence due to his ever-changing tactical setups.
But that was simply not the case and it seems like a lack of playing time has played a role in the visibly sluggish Phillips looking far from the player he once was at Leeds United during his stint at West Ham so far.
Craig Burley feels the decision to sign for Manchester City was always bound not to end well for Kalvin Phillips.
“He was a good player. I’m not suggesting he was the next coming of Rodri or anything but he’s a good player. It’s a classic case of going to the wrong club at the wrong time”, Burley claimed [via ESPN FC].
“It’s a difficult scenario because being chased by the best team in Europe as they have been and certainly the best in England. But you have to look at the bigger picture. ‘What’s it going to do to me? Am I going to play? Is it about the money?’ All these sorts of things.”
Craig Burley believes Kalvin Phillips is not “sharp enough”, as evidenced by his early days at the London Stadium.
“And it’s clearly been a disaster for him and I think what you’re seeing here is a very frustrated player. An extremely frustrated player who’s not fit enough, who’s not sharp enough, he’s had not enough game time and he’s frustrated within his own performances.”
“Sometimes, when that happens, it just triggers you. You’re not being able to do the things he used to do for Leeds and for England on occasions. But he can remedy that. He can remedy that with attitude and getting his head down.”
Kalvin Phillips must focus on getting as fit as possible
At Leeds, what made Phillips stand out alongside several of his teammates was how ridiculously athletic they were, making away trips to Elland Road a nightmare for even some of the best of sides.
As Craig Burley claimed, Manchester City loanee Kalvin Phillips no longer seems as fit as he once was and if he manages to become as sharp as he was at his boyhood club, he could redeem himself.
All is never lost in football, as Ross Barkley has proven at Luton Town this season.
Once Kalvin Phillips focuses on the basics, like his fitness levels, he may have a chance of getting the West Ham supporters to realise why he was once considered a top-quality midfielder.
