Pundit Craig Burley has claimed that Kalvin Phillips needs to leave Manchester City this summer.
With reports of City securing a £30m deal for Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea, as well as Ilkay Gundogan seemingly on his way to Barcelona, it appears that the midfield could look rather different by the time next season kicks off.
In fact, another one of City’s current midfielders has been touted to follow Gundogan out the door this summer.
Burley says Phillips needs to leave City
Speaking in a recent video on the ESPN UK YouTube channel, Burley said this about Phillips when asked about City’s reported deal for Kovacic.
He said: “It all depends on the [Ilkay] Gundogan news, which we’re hearing as we speak he’s probably going.
“It then depends on Kalvin Phillips, who is a different kind of player but he’s in the middle of the park. So I think initially we’re looking at beefing up the squad but I think Mateo Kovacic might actually play more than people think. Kalvin Phillips had that thought process, it hasn’t worked for him but he’s a player who I think needs to move on.”
City signed the 27-year-old during the previous summer transfer window from Leeds United in a deal worth a reported fee of £45m.
Across his debut season at the Etihad Stadium, the Englishman lifted the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League but only started four of the 21 games he appeared in across all competitions.
This lack of regular game time shows why Burley thinks a move away from City could be the ideal next step for Phillips, especially if Kovacic’s imminent arrival has a potential impact on the likelihood of him getting the chance to play more often next season.
However, with the England international recently sharing his intentions of staying where he is and fighting for a place in the team next season, this sort of determination could convince Pep Guardiola to want to keep hold of the player and give him more of an opportunity to play and stake a claim to be in the team regularly.
