Speaking on his podcast, Phil Hay has been discussing Kalvin Phillips and his potential move to Manchester City this summer.
The England international has been strongly linked with a move to the Etihad, and it looks as though that deal could come to fruition by the end of the summer.
Of course, moving from Leeds to City will be a real change for Phillips, and according to Hay, the Yorkshire Pirlo is being earmarked to play a slightly more advanced role for the Premier League champions.
What’s been said?
Hay spoke about Phillips’ move to City and a potential position change.
“Rodri is the only player who isn’t doubled-up at City and that’s the only gap they have in the squad, and if you’re going to compete on four fronts like City do, you need a lot of players, and you need quality players,” Hay said.
“From what we can tell, Guardiola would certainly play Phillips in a slightly more advanced position than the position he was used to at Leeds which is an out-and-out number four, which you don’t see much of these days.”
Good enough
Phillips, of course, isn’t going to be transformed into an attacking midfielder anytime soon, but he’s certainly good enough to play in a more advanced role in this City team.
Before Marcelo Bielsa was appointed, Phillips was more of a roaming number eight, and he even hit seven league goals back in 2017/18.
We’ve also seen Phillips play a bit higher up the pitch for England, perhaps most notably in his Man of the Match performance against Croatia at Euro 2020, so he clearly has what it takes to play with a bit more attacking freedom.
It will certainly be interesting to see how Phillips gets on if he moves to City.
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