Kalvin Phillips has to find a way back into Pep Guardiola’s plans at Manchester City after struggling to settle at the club.
The 28-year-old was signed from Leeds United for £43million back in 2022 but he has struggled to hit the same heights in Lancashire that he hit in Yorkshire.
His time at Manchester City got off to a bad start when Guardiola called him overweight after he returned from the World Cup in Qatar.
Guardiola apologised for his criticism earlier this year but it hasn’t helped Kalvin Phillips work his way back into his plans – he was loaned out to West Ham for the second half of last season.
HITC revealed in May that Phillips will be put up for sale by City this summer after failing to live up to expectations.
A move to the London Stadium was supposed to get Phillips’ career back on track, but an error-filled six months with the Hammers only weakened his reputation.
Kalvin Phillips vs Celtic
Phillips returned to Manchester City for pre-season training this summer and Guardiola handed him a lifeline by starting him in their latest friendly against Celtic.
However, his return to action didn’t quite go to plan and a youthful City lineup that also included Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland found themselves 3-1 down to the Scottish champions at half-time.
Guardiola replaced Phillips at the break and City went on to lose 4-3 in the United States.
The City boss praised Phillips for his performance after the full-time whistle, saying “He’s training really well and made a really good first-half. He came from an injury, that’s why we didn’t give him more minutes.”
Man City fans react to Kalvin Phillips performance
While Guardiola was quick to praise Phillips for his 45-minute display against Celtic, City fans had a different view.
Supporters criticised the midfielder on X, formerly known as Twitter, with one writing “Kalvin Phillips should retire, he can’t continue as a pro”.
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Another wrote “Kalvin Phillips needs to call it a day” while a third posted “Kalvin Phillips needs to be sold”.
A fourth post directed towards Guardiola urged the City boss to “Never play Kalvin Phillips again” after his performance.
Another supporter added “Kalvin Phillips might be worse than he was before”.
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