Gabby Agbonlahor has made an observation about a Manchester City player’s confidence levels.
The pundit played in the Premier League until as recently as 2018.
As a result, the Aston Villa legend has an idea of how it feels to undergo ebbs and flows in terms of his self-belief.
Especially having been a striker — a position where confidence is a make-or-break quality.
At Manchester City, it would be fair to assume that a majority of their players tend to be brimming with confidence.
Gabby Agbonlahor makes fresh Kalvin Phillips claim
If that was not the case, their players would be unable to push themselves to win as much silverware they do season after season — especially during Pep Guardiola’s time at the helm.
The Sky Blues players also seem as composed as can be even during adversity.
Their seeming quiet confidence has enabled them to come out on top in high-stakes games in particular; whether that is during City’s famous Premier League title-clinching comeback against Aston Villa in 2022 or their Champions League final triumph against Inter Milan.
However, Gabby Agbonlahor has claimed on talkSPORT that Kalvin Phillips is one player at Manchester City who is undergoing a confidence crisis.
“He didn’t become a bad player overnight, Kalvin Phillips. It was only three years ago when he started in the Euros. You don’t become a bad player overnight. His confidence is rock bottom, mate. Rock bottom. He is a very good player. When you watched him at Leeds and England, he is getting that ball, he is pinging diags [diagonals].”
Natural for Kalvin Phillips to be feeling extremely underconfident
Having gone from being one of England’s most important players to a bit-part figure at Manchester City, Phillips would understandably be feeling extremely underconfident.
Recently, Dean Saunders likened the City midfielder’s downfall to that of Dele Alli’s.
On the pitch, the 28-year-old seems a shadow of his former self — and a factor that could have led to this being the case might be due to his lack of confidence — as he has started to make mistakes he rarely ever did in a Leeds United shirt — whether that is at City or during his loan stint at West Ham United.
For Phillips to undergo a confidence boost, he will either have to play in an environment where he is valued and important or become a starter at the Etihad Stadium.
It would be fair to claim that the treble-winner’s career will only be able to resurrect his career if he manages to regain his seemingly lost confidence.
