‘Pep just doesn’t fancy he is better than Rodri but Pep Guardiola choose to bench him: Chris Sutton thinks ‘something wrong’ with £150k-a-week Manchester City player
The decision by Manchester City to pay £42 million to acquire Phillips from Leeds in the summer of 2022 was therefore not entirely unexpected.
Having difficulty at Manchester City is Kalvin Phillips
However, the defensive midfielder for England has so far found it difficult to have a significant influence at City.
Although we are aware that it might take players a full season to adjust to Pep Guardiola’s style of play, the 27-year-old is still not making the team.
For City past season, Phillips made 10 substitute appearances and two starts in the Premier League.
Last year, the Englishman’s total time in the UEFA Champions League was just 39 minutes.
Without Phillips in their lineup, City would not have won the FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League, or the Premier League.
At one point during the 2017–18 campaign, City manager Pep Guardiola even voiced his displeasure over Phillips’ weight.
Kalvin Phillips verdict from Chris Sutton
Although Chris Sutton, a former Chelsea striker and current BBC Sport pundit, does not believe that everything is great between the midfielder and Guardiola, Rodri’s absence may have given Phillips a chance to play right away.
The analyst thinks that the midfielder, who earns £150,000 a week (Spotrac), has a problem, which is why Guardiola rarely uses him.
Regarding Phillips, Sutton stated on BBC Radio 5 Live: The fact that Pep hasn’t really used him at all is also telling, isn’t it?
Even at the beginning of this season, he was completely absent from the scene.
He has seldom made a ball kick.
There must be a problem there that Pep doesn’t particularly like.
