Pep Guardiola gave a fairly unconvincing response when asked if Kalvin Phillips could start a game for Manchester City soon.
The Spaniard was speaking in his press conference after watching his side thrash Bournemouth 6-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
City went top of the Premier League with the result, and it was real statement win from the champions.
Jeremy Doku was absolutely outstanding for City, grabbing four assists and scoring a goal himself. In getting four assists, Doku became the youngest player ever to achieve the feat in the competition.
A lot of the talk has been about the Belgian and his electric performance, with Pep admitting after the game that he has taken him by surprise with the way he has started since coming in.
With City cruising to victory, there was an opportunity for Kalvin Phillips to get minutes in the second-half. He came on to replace Rodri on 70 minutes.
After the game, Pep was asked whether a start could be in the offing for Phillips – but the response wasn’t exactly encouraging for the England international…
Pep Guardiola fails to say Kalvin Phillips will start soon for Manchester City
The embargoed section of Pep’s post-match press conference was released last night and the Spaniard was revealed to have made some comments about Phillips after the win over Bournemouth.
Pep was asked whether Phillips might start a game soon, having played the last 20 minutes against the Cherries.
The manager showered a lot of praise on Phillips, but stopped short of saying that a start would be in the offing for the 27-year-old. He said: “Rodri is so important for us, I cannot deny it…
“He’s a national team player, he comes from Leeds, he’s exceptional in many, many things. From my reasons, maybe I’m completely wrong, he didn’t take the minutes.
“He never, ever makes one action against mates that play, or (makes) a bad face, training bad. I’d love to give him as many minutes as possible. When he plays I’m delighted, he deserves the best in life, how he behaves, how he lives for his profession.”
Guardiola response is a killer for Phillips
That is pretty much a no then and it must be a tough one to take for Phillips.
Guardiola may have praised him a lot here, but the manager instantly stated that Rodri was ‘so important’ to him. And then failed to say that Phillips would be starting any time soon. That has got to be disheartening to hear.
Clearly, nothing has really changed in Guardiola’s mind.
If it wasn’t clear to Phillips that he should seek an exit in January before, then it should be after these latest remarks from Pep.
The situation is a real shame. It is seemingly just a question of Phillips not quite being able to deliver what the manager wants from a technical standpoint, and obviously having the best player in the world in his position ahead of him.
