Alex McLeish has warned Kalvin Phillips against joining Manchester City unless they can guarantee him regular game time. The Premier League champions continue to be heavily linked with the Leeds United midfielder as a replacement for the outgoing Fernandinho.
While a move to one of Europe’s truly elite sides is hard for anyone to turn down, there are question marks over how much the England regular would play at the Etihad. Rodri is widely viewed as one of the premier midfielders in world football and, with Pep Guardiola’s tendency to only use one defensive midfielder in his teams, Phillips might struggle for frequent opportunities.
McLeish doesn’t feel the 26-year-old should move across the Pennines unless a starting berth is guaranteed. He told Football Insider : "He should be going somewhere he’s playing regular football every week.
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“Phillips shouldn’t go somewhere if he’s going to be on the bench, playing every five weeks or something. For me, for his career, wherever he goes, he’s going to make enormous money.
“It stands to reason that he goes to someone for enormous money and plays every week. I would say if he is not guaranteed as a Man City stalwart or in the nucleus of the team, he should go somewhere else."
While Phillips would, of course, prefer to play every game if he does decide to leave Leeds this summer, there are plenty of opportunities to get game time at Man City. Last season, they played 58 times in all competitions and it wasn’t even close to their best campaign in the cups.
Had they got to the Champions League final - which they will be desperate to do next season - as well as the finals of both domestic cup competitions, Man City would have played 64 matches. That would give Phillips plenty of chance to rack up well over 30 appearances even if Rodri is seen as the starting defensive midfielder.
Although, by the same stretch, with the league being so highly prioritised at the Etihad, the Leeds star would want to play a key role up and down the country every weekend. It could put a serious spanner in the works of any potential deal if Guardiola is unable to make that promise.
