Kalvin Phillips has not been a particularly successful signing for Manchester City.
Since arriving at the Etihad Stadium back in 2022 from Leeds United in a deal worth £45m, the midfielder has made just 31 appearances for City across all competitions.
Even though he was part of the squad when they won the Treble, Philips has since gone on to complete a short loan spell at West Ham United and join Ipswich Town on a season-long loan for the current campaign.
Despite that, Josko Gvardiol recently called Phillips underrated for what he can do on the pitch on and off the ball.
Now though, despite sharing the dressing room with superstars like Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, Phillips has pinpointed another figure in City’s squad that he holds in very high esteem.
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Kalvin Phillips names Phil Foden the best he’s ever played with
Appearing in a recent video shared on the Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel, Phillips said this about Phil Foden after ranking the City star above fellow top-flight English stars Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka.
He said: “Obviously, I had heard about him before when he played for City. The season he had last year, he is the best player I have ever trained with, I think, and played with, I would say.”
Rico Lewis claimed Foden ‘doesn’t get credit’ he deserves
Having emerged through City’s youth academy, Foden has gone on to make 277 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side across all competitions, scoring 88 goals, providing 54 assists and lifting many trophies along the way.
Phillips isn’t the only person who knows what it’s like to train and play with the 24-year-old to praise him, as Rico Lewis praised Foden with these words back in August.
He said: “The main person I’ve learned off is Phil [Foden]. He had an amazing season last year.
“How he thinks before he gets the ball, the stuff he does on it, he only gets mentioned for the goals and assists, but he keeps the ball so well.
“The amount of times he retains possession and presses well, there’s so much to his game that he maybe doesn’t get credit for, just because of how good he is doing the things that people really care about.”
With Phillips appearing in 37 games with Foden for City and the England national team, it’s clear that the 28-year-old has enough knowledge and experience of the six-time Premier League champion to make such a significant verdict on him.
