Jamie O’Hara has claimed that a certain player’s move to Manchester City has been a failure.
Since Pep Guardiola’s appointment in 2016, City have largely made signings who have fit his system and addressed a problem area in their squad; in turn, leading to successful business.
However, there are a few players who have failed to live up to the billing at the Etihad Stadium over the past couple of years.
Claudio Bravo, for instance, who was regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world at Barcelona lost his place to Ederson Moraes a season after he was signed.
Similarly, Kalvin Phillips’ status as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League seems not to be the general consensus anymore.
Jamie O’Hara gives honest verdict about Kalvin Phillips since Man City move
So much so that in February, Graeme Souness questioned whether Phillips was even a Premier League player.
The £42 million (The Athletic) man’s loan stint at West Ham United was riddled with mistakes before David Moyes eventually decided to drop him.
It is safe to say that the former Leeds United midfielder failed in his pursuit for redemption at the London Stadium.
Jamie O’Hara feels Phillips’ move to Manchester City has been a calamity and ultimately, the transfer simply failed to live up to expectations.
The pundit said on talkSPORT (29/07/2024, 8:57 am): “He is obviously a nice lad, but it hasn’t quite worked for him. I spoke to Kevin Nolan, he came on the show last week. He worked with him. He is a great lad. Everyone wanted him to do well. Just didn’t quite happen for him.”
“Things happened, and it kind of all just transformed into a bit of a nightmare. But he has got a lot of ability. He needs to get his confidence back. He needs to get back on the pitch.”
Kalvin Phillips has not looked great in pre-season either
Phillips, who has played in both of Manchester City’s pre-season games against Celtic and AC Milan has not looked the part either.
In fact, the Englishman’s displays have been quite disappointing — as he has made grave errors in possession, lacked positional discipline and the ability to cover ground effectively.
However, the same assessments can be made about the 28-year-old’s entire career as a City player.
It will be interesting to see whether improvements in Phillips’ performances are evident against Barcelona and Chelsea in the remaining pre-season games.
So far, the prospect of the England international redeeming himself seem remote as he looks miles off the player he once was at Leeds.
