Kalvin Phillips has encountered difficulties in making an impact at Manchester City, and there are reports linking him with various Premier League clubs, with Newcastle United being one of them. Simon Jordan, a former Leeds United player, has advised Phillips’ agents to secure a transfer for the English international from Manchester City during the January transfer window. Since his move to the Etihad in the summer of 2022, Phillips has struggled to establish himself in Pep Guardiola’s team.
Newcastle United is one of the Premier League clubs rumored to be interested in Phillips, and there is now a belief that Manchester City is open to the idea of him leaving mid-season. Although the 27-year-old continues to earn a place in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad, his consistent absence from City’s starting lineup is likely to lead Southgate to explore other options.
Phillips was given a rare start in City’s Carabao Cup third-round match against Newcastle but remained on the bench as an unused substitute in their recent defeat to Arsenal. Guardiola opted to field Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, and academy graduate Rico Lewis, while also bringing in Matheus Nunes from the bench instead of Phillips.
Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane suggested that these selection decisions indicate Guardiola’s loss of confidence in Phillips during a recent episode of the Stick to Football podcast. Simon Jordan has now shared his perspective on the future of the former Leeds favorite in his Mail Online column, stating, “Kalvin Phillips’ move to Manchester City must be considered one of the most detrimental decisions to a football career. It’s clear that he is not part of Pep Guardiola’s plans, so why waste the best years of your career on an unproductive endeavor? Eventually, he might lose his place in the England national team because even the most loyal managers, like Gareth Southgate, will ultimately choose someone else over him.”
Jordan further urged Phillips’ agents to redirect their efforts away from recruiting other players, like Ivan Toney, for their next financial opportunity and instead focus on finding a club where Phillips’s talents are appreciated and where he has a genuine chance of securing a spot in the team. It seems that these agents might currently be preoccupied with challenges related to FIFA’s recent crackdown on football agents, potentially taking their attention away from the best interests of their clients.