Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is not interested in returning to his former club Leeds United ahead of next season.
According to Football Insider, Kalvin Phillips is keen on staying at Manchester City. The 27-year-old wants to continue under Pep Guardiola despite his disappointing first season at the club. Phillips’s former club Leeds United are keen on having him back but the player wants to stay in Manchester.
The England international joined Manchester City ahead of the ongoing season. City paid £42 million to acquire his services. His arrival was considered a great signing by Pep Guardiola’s team but the player has failed to live up to the expectations.
Phillips joined the Leeds United academy back in the summer of 2010. He came through the ranks at the club and become an integral part of their squad. The 27-year-old played a key role in helping them back to the English top flight.
He was one of the most important players at Leeds under Marcelo Bielsa. He even got the England call on the back of his performances. Phillips’s performances attracted a lot of attention and eventually, Manchester City managed to strike a deal for the defensive midfielder.
However, the move has not gone according to plan for the player as well as the club. The 27-year-old has suffered recurring shoulder injuries which have kept him out of action for a significant amount of time.
Apart from the injury, he has not lived up to the expectations of Guardiola. The England international is behind Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan in the pecking order. He has not had much game time in the ongoing season. While Phillips has featured in 13 matches, in reality, he has been on the pitch for less than 350 minutes.
The 27-year-old has completed the full 90 minutes only once for Manchester City in the ongoing season. However, his lack of game time hasn’t affected his importance in the England national team.
Phillips has been linked to a move back to his former club Leeds because of the lack of game time and struggles since joining Manchester City. However, the player is keen on continuing at City. The 27-year-old is desperate to make a mark and became a regular under Guardiola.
Phillips is good enough but the two players ahead of him always will be, he should go back to Leeds in the summer assuming relegation is avoided and play every game a bit like Zaha did at Palace.