Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is expected to leave the club in the next 10 days – but two of the clubs interested in him share one reservation about him.
It has been long been suggested that Phillips will leave City in this window.
The England international has once again struggled for minutes at the Etihad under Pep Guardiola, even when Rodri was suspended earlier this season.
Really, it is a case of when he goes, not if.
City’s loan fee demand of around £5-6 million had been proving a little prohibitive for some.
But there is actually another reason why a couple of clubs have not acted on their interest in him…
Newcastle and Juventus both have one concern about Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips
For a while, it looked as though Phillips would ultimately end up wearing a black and white shirt following the January transfer window.
It seemed the former Leeds United man would either join Newcastle United or Juventus, with both clubs being very strongly linked in this window.
But it looks as though West Ham are currently in pole position to sign Phillips, and the Daily Mail have now reported a reason why Newcastle and Juve have not stepped up their interest.
Apparently, the two clubs actually have concerns over how quickly Phillips can get to full match sharpness after just 14 games this season.
Phillips has only played for a total of 318 minutes this term across those 10 appearances. Last season, he managed just 593 minutes across 21 appearances.
Concerns over Phillips understandable
It is understandable that Newcastle and Juve have both considered the player’s match sharpness.
Phillips has not had regular football now since leaving Leeds in the summer of 2022. It has been a long time since he enjoyed a proper run of starts.
As it is the middle of the season, clubs will want to bring in players who can hit the ground running quickly.
Phillips is a good player but he has zero momentum right now and probably will be lacking sharpness, which is not ideal for potential suitors.
That said, we know what he’s capable of from his time at Leeds, and it may just take a bit of patience to get him where he needs to be.
