Kalvin Phillips went an unused substitute in Manchester City’s 3-1 win over his former club, Leeds United, today. That means his number of 2022-23 Premier League appearances, which all came off the bench, remains at eight. That is a status that could best be described as “marginalized” to say the least. Especially so for a £42 million man who moved over just last summer.
The England international could be on the move again this summer, as he would obviously want to find a destination where he wouldn’t be on the fringes.
City manager Pep Guardiola says it’s up to the player himself.
“It depends on the players. At the end we’re here, I try to be honest with the questions and my feelings,” he said yesterday in response to a query on the situation.
“My feelings sometimes change. But at the end it belongs to the players, they have to convince themselves and the team and not because I say something. They have to earn my confidence. All of them, not just Kalvin, all of them how they perform. Teams change a lot and players for previous seasons who were incredibly important but this season less important. It’s how they perform, many things can happen.”
“I’m not complaining about Kalvin because when you don’t play much it’s difficult to take the rhythm.”
Guardiola then discussed the continuity already present in the midfield, and how difficult that can be to break into, if you’re an outsider.
“John we’re seven years together, Rodri is (four) years together,” Guardiola said.
“I don’t have to tell them anything. Just little details – a movement here or there. Kalvin if maybe in the past he’d played more minutes he will get that but Rodri was in exceptional form. That role is so, so important, that’s why the lack of minutes makes the circle more difficult. But he always pays attention, in the training sessions he is always open-minded to get it.”
Guardiola also emphasized that the tightness of the league title race has left him with few opportunities to give the fringe players more playing time. Furthermore, he added that staying alive in so many competitions has created a fixture pileup so intense that he hasn’t had any time to think about what the future may hold for Kalvin Phillips beyond this season.
“But being behind Arsenal, we cannot drop points,” Guardiola added.
“We haven’t had that situation of being eight, 10 points in front – in the past it happened. He can do it, but in that moment I always had the feeling Rodri knows exactly what to do in the role. What happens next season, I’m not concerned for one second now.”
He said he won’t address this issue until the offseason.
‘We will see at the end of the season,” Guardiola continued.
“We’ll sit with the players. Maybe they want more minutes or maybe they are not happy with the situation. But right now I’m not going to discuss anything.”
Up next for Kalvin Phillips, Pep Guardiola and the rest of Manchester City is the first of the two-legged Champions League semifinal tie against Real Madrid. Kickoff in Madrid is Tuesday night, as the club’s treble ambitions/prospects remain very much alive and well.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.
