18 months after completing a £45m move to Manchester City from his boyhood club Leeds United, Kalvin Phillips is heading out on loan to West Ham United.
But why has the move ended in failure for the England international after looking so promising under Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road prior to signing for Pep Guardiola?
With Euro 2024 on the horizon, can David Moyes rejuvenate one of Gareth Southgate’s most trusted midfielders?
Ayo Akinwolere is joined by The Athletic’s Man City writer Sam Lee, Leeds United writer Phil Hay and England correspondent Jack Pitt-Brooke to discuss.
00:00 Intro
00:40 Kalvin Phillips at Man City
01:25 Did City get something wrong?
05:43 Phillips & Rodri comparisons
10:58 Kalvin Phillips under different management
17:30 Is the level at City too high?
20:34 Will West Ham be a good fit for him?
24:52 Could Phillips get into the England squad?
33:14 Phillips & Rice comparisons
37:06 Outro
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38 Comments
He was injured in the 1st preseason game, then got re-injured once he came back .. tbh just unfortunate then add peps ruthlessness on top of it.. probably destroyed his confidence then on top of that Rodri then goes on to have the best CDM ever possibly, what can ya do 🤷
It's not complex,he made the wrong career choice,how does a player whose main attribute is his long passing and through balls from deep go to city,that was a move doomed from the start.he ain't that press resistant and has slow feet hence he can be caught out in the first phase with how city play.his aerial ability is good but not that good,he can get bullied and city play with a single pivot,he moves the ball on too quickly and when you add that to the fact he came with an injury then wasn't completely fit and he had rodri above him and city play with a single pivot and two free 8,s 🥲he just didn't suit city,s system.he should have gone to united or Liverpool which are more direct where his long passing and creation from deep would have actually been helpful and with the lack of mobile cdm,s there,he would have easily established himself.at least he,ll be in the euros😂
Shouldn't he have claimed a spot after Gundogen left?
Uhhhh… he was never very good?
That hairstyle for a start
Typical English media protecting an English player. He was never good enough. City never even believed in him. Weird transfer from the start.
I didn’t get the signing at the time, had never seen anything to make me think he was the level and Nunes falls into a similar bracket for me if I’m honest but that being said Phillips seems a nice lad and wish him well at WHU
Is that Andy from Blue Peter. You're a legend. Remember when he went to Nollywood 😂😂😂😂
Nothing went wrong!! Ridiculous headline. Pep didn't pick him. Simple as that. City should have done a little more due diligence…
What went wrong is that he was never good enough to play for City. I said when they bought him that we’d had their pants down, and I was right!
Man City bought a very good player so other teams couldn't have him. It was clear Leeds were a yoyo club and they took their best player….and they were relegated the season after. Also, a fixture in the England team alongside Rice. But City bought him in their quest to have stupidly expensive players on the bench and due to Rodri playing, Phillips didn't. Phillips made the wrong choice.
Bang average player signed by a really good team 👍
Phil!!!!!!!
City have now brought in 3 midfielders who can barely get any game time. Quite remarkable actually that Nunes, Kovacic and Philips are all to varying degrees out in the cold.
With such a small roster it is a bit worrying.
Curtis jones
Just not good enough. There, saved you half an hour of your time.
If you look at it from a football fans perspective, Phillips has it made. Trains and travels with the best team in the world yet never has to worry about the match day jitters, also gets paid to be a passenger at the elite most level of the game .
What went "wrong" for Phillips?
Premier League: 2022–23
FA Cup: 2022–23
UEFA Champions League: 2022–23
UEFA Super Cup: 2023
FIFA Club World Cup: 2023
This was solved after 5 minutes. Pep didn’t rate him. Not his style. Southgate uses him. He could be good for west ham.
Lol English homegrown quota is what happened to him, Jack Rodwell has the same thing happen to him
Just not good enough for a top possession team. Can't run, bad positional sense, not good enough on the ball under pressure. Will do fine in a more counter attacking team
Rodri.
Next video please.
Kavin Philips is overrated. Another championship superstar
38 MINS? Do you not have anything to do?
Genius of City is they probably get most of Philip money back. Havertz plays and Arsenal would get half.
To me it was obvious this was always going to be the outcome. Signed because he is English. Same with Sinclair all those years ago. A good English player that was never going to get the playing time.
Not going to do much for hid England chances if he can’t get into the team in front of Ward-Prowse.
He’s not that good? Was never of the level required? Overrated because he’s English? Leeds are a championship club that had a good time under Bielsa but to play for a team like city? No chance.
He’s an average premier league midfielder but because he’s English he gets glazed like no other.
Because Pep signs whoever he wants he doesnt care if it fails because to City it means nothing
Who are these 4 people and why are we supposed to believe they know what they are talking about…?
Bad haircut
Slow and unintelligent player
Uhhh… he was never particularly good?
More important,who told him his hair would look pretty cool the way he now wears it!?!!
He has got the money to make his mind and body sparkle. Use it wisely.
Cear and SIMPLE- He is an AVERAGE PLAYER- Yes he looked good at Leeds, that's LEEDS. He is NOT a PL standard!!! period
Not a very good football player, but a maybe a player of a different kind.