Manchester City offloaded Kalvin Phillips in January, with the midfielder joining West Ham United on loan – and Roy Keane believes the player needs to speed things up a bit on the pitch.
Phillips had been expected to leave the Etihad last month, after again struggling for minutes under Pep Guardiola.
Phillips barely featured for City, and couldn’t even get games when Rodri was suspended.
In the end, after a few clubs showed interest, Phillips joined West Ham towards the end of the January transfer window – and so far, it’s not been a good start.
He made errors in each of his first two appearances against Bournemouth and Manchester United, and it’s clear the player is lacking match sharpness and confidence. Phillips himself has said in a new interview that Guardiola’s management of him has had an impact on his confidence.
For Roy Keane, the 27-year-old needs to start doing one thing in order to improve…
Roy Keane urges Kalvin Phillips to play quicker on the pitch, after Manchester City nightmare
Keane was speaking about Phillips today ahead of West Ham United’s game against Arsenal.
Phillips was named on the bench for the clash, as he was against Manchester United the weekend before.
Keane said: “It’s a strange one, because David Moyes said we have to give him a bit of time. But you bring a player on loan, he’s going to be a big player, a big fee is no doubt involved. You need to hit the ground running.
“Phillips needs to look at himself. Why is he taking so long to get up to speed? Of course, he’s not been playing regularly for Man City. In his first cameo roles, he’s made a few mistakes and unfortunately, he’s been punished for them.
“If he does get on the pitch today, he has to speed things up a bit. To me, he slows the game down too much.
“I’m surprised it’s taken him that long to get up to speed, it’s just about reading the game and doing it simply. He’s obviously not in the rhythm.”
Phillips needs to build momentum
One has to feel slightly for Phillips right now.
It has been evident that he is completely lacking in confidence at the moment, having featured so little for City since his move to the Etihad in the summer of 2022.
Phillips has been open about his struggles at City and lacking confidence, but he just needs a couple of good games under his belt.
He has done right leaving City in a bid to get back on track ahead of Euro 2024, and City fans will hope this move can be a successful one for him.
