Juventus are reportedly much more keen to sign Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City than they are Thomas Partey from Arsenal in January.
There has been a lot of speculation about £45 million signing Phillips in the last few weeks, amid a continued lack of game time at the Etihad Stadium.
The recent suspension for Rodri had some people expecting Pep Guardiola to give Phillips a run in the starting XI.
He did feature in the first game Rodri wasn’t available against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup, but he didn’t take his chance and then found himself back on the bench for the game with Wolves. He also did not start against Arsenal.
Amid his struggles, there has been talk of Juventus coming in for Phillips in January – and it looks like the Italian giants are going to make him a top priority…
Juventus to prioritise Kalvin Phillips over Thomas Partey
TEAMtalk have reported on Juve’s plans for the winter window, and it looks like there’s a good chance Phillips will be a focus.
They say that Juve, who recently lost Nicolo Fagioli to a seven-month ban for violating better rules, have been considering Partey, but ‘well-informed figures in Italy believe’ the Ghanaian is not at a stage where he’d be certain to move.
Phillips is said to be ahead of him on the priority list, but there is a potential stumbling block in that the £150,000-a-week star would prefer to remain in the Premier League if possible.
It is stated that Juventus will wait for more information about Phillips’ situation before deciding whether to move for him.
It is not mentioned in this report on what kind of basis Juve would wish to sign the former Leeds United man, but it has already been suggested Juve head coach Max Allergri is personally keen to land him. Another report has claimed Mikel Arteta also wants the 27-year-old.
Juventus may be a good move for Phillips
One thing that is very clear at this point is that Phillips needs to leave City in January.
He has not suddenly become a bad player just because he isn’t getting minutes at the Etihad, it’s just that Rodri is an incredible player who will always play ahead of him. Indeed, Pep Guardiola has previously called Phillips ‘an intelligent player’.
Him staying in the summer was admirable, but he must move on in the next window for the sake of his career.
Juventus could be a decent move for him. Although he’d prefer to remain in the Premier League, a division in which he’s proven himself, Serie A is famously a slower-paced league than the English top-flight and Phillips could really thrive.
Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane have both made moves to foreign leagues in recent times and are really shining so a move to Juve for Phillips could be good.
