Manchester City duo Mateo Kovacic and Rodri have now received praise from Gareth Southgate.
The 53-year-old made the comment when speaking to Channel 4.
So, what did Gareth Southgate say about Rodri and Mateo Kovacic? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well, the Spain international and the Croatia international found themselves on the end of praise from the England boss while he was congratulating Kalvin Phillips on his performance against Italy.
The Manchester City No.4 was named in the starting XI as England secured qualification for UEFA EURO 2024 with a 3-1 win at Wembley on Tuesday night.
Speaking about Phillips, Southgate said: “Kalvin (Phillips) and Harry (Maguire) were both outstanding tonight. They are both important for us. They are up against really good players at their clubs. Kalvin has Rodri and Kovacic to compete with, but every time Kalvin plays for us he does a good job.”
It must be hard for the 27-year-old to compete against Rodri and Kovacic on a daily basis under a manager as demanding as Pep Guardiola.
Phillips also now appears to have slipped behind Rico Lewis in the pecking order after the 18-year-old was chosen to start the recent 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Nevertheless, Southgate clearly admires the Leeds-born playmaker greatly, and while some might question his continued selection of Phillips, the £45m man has never let the Three Lions down, in fairness.
Manchester City likely to let Phillips go thanks to presence of Rodri and Kovacic
In our view, Guardiola is likely to let Phillips depart in January if he asks to leave, given the fact Rodri, Kovacic and Lewis are clearly providing ample depth in that department.
The Northern Echo believe Newcastle are ready to move quickly if Phillips ends up on the market, and he will need to be playing regularly in the second half of the 2023/24 campaign if he wants to go to UEFA EURO 2024 in the summer.
Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as anything could happen.
