Pep confirms revival process of City's big-money flop begins

Three years ago, Man City splurged €49 million and signed Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips, at that time, one of the most talented midfielders England had. Now, the 29-year-old is still at Man City, but his status is way different than in 2022. He's looking for a chance to revive his career, and Pep Guardiola will most likely give him one.

Once his maiden season with the Cityzens began, Phillips picked up a shoulder injury that separated him from the pitch for almost three months. He lost his place on the team, some other players came into the spotlight, and his self-confidence was shaken.

Phillips in action at Man City in September 2023 (©Michael Regan/Getty Images)

In a season and a half with the Manchester side, Phillips played only 30 games and scored one goal. The parting was inevitable, and the Cityzens loaned him to West Ham in January 2024.

Still, the story in London was the same. He participated in less than half of the Hammers' matches, and in June, he was back at Etihad. Unwanted in Manchester, Phillips was sent on another loan to the newly promoted Ipswich Town, where he collected 22 appearances but missed more than two months due to injuries.

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The ACL one was particularly severe, as he was sidelined from last April and only recently began to recover and returned to training.

Hence, the question of his status at Man City arose. Another loan or another chance at Etihad? According to Guardiola - the latter.

"I didn't give enough minutes. In that moment, Rodri was fit and looks like our father in that time, protecting the other 10 sons. Maybe the way we played, it was completely different to Leeds."

"It's just the environment, how they connect with the way we play. And the players play good when they have games, games, games, and I didn't give them."

"When that happens, I feel bad, but he's an incredible person. Now he's come back here. He will train with us, we'll try to help him and maybe he can play some games and get confident," the Spaniard said via Sky Sports.

The player himself spoke about the period at City in an interview with Sky Sports last November.

"At City, you can train with the best players every single day but if you're not playing football every day, it's difficult to stay fit, it's difficult to stay confident."

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"When there are times you're feeling like you could play and the manager decides to go down a different route, it does hurt a little bit. The more I wasn't playing, the less confident I got, the less fit I got."

"I felt like I lost some fire in my belly to compete," Phillips revealed.

However, now he's back at Etihad thanks to the injury that prevented his eventual transfer during the previous transfer window. Yet, if Guardiola stays true to his word and gives him some playing time, he might benefit from this turn of events.

EFL CUP - ROUND 3

Tuesday

Barnsley - Brighton 0-6 (0-3)

/Gomez 9, 21, 33, 68, Howell 87, Ayari 89/

Burnley - Cardiff 1-2 (0-2)

/Flemming 56 - Colwill 30, Robinson 35/

Fulham - Cambridge 1-0 (0-0)

/Smith Rowe 66/

Lincoln City - Chelsea 1-2 (1-0)

/Street 42 - George 48, Buonanotte 50/

Wigan - Wycombe 0-2 (0-1)

/Boyd-Munce 32, McNeilly 62/

Wolverhampton - Everton 2-0 (1-0)

/Munetsi 29,  Arokodare 87/

Wrexham - Reading 2-0 (0-0)

/Broadhead 57, 70/

Liverpool - Southampton 2-1 (1-0)

/Isak 43, Ekitike 85 - Charles 76/

Wednesday

21.45: (19.0) Huddersfield (8.50) Man.City (1.13)

21.45: (1.10) Newcastle (11.0) Bradford (18.0)

21.45: (1.15) Tottenham (7.75) Doncaster (19.0)

22.00: (18.0) Port Vale (11.0) Arsenal (1.10)

***odds are subject to change***