It is both the signing that Manchester City did not particularly need to make and the one that solves the most pressing issue left to address in Pep Guardiola’s squad. Maybe that is the luxury of being Premier League champions in four of the past five seasons. If it ain’t broke, you can pay an initial £42m for a player who is unlikely to start every week. But then Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain know full well that if a third consecutive league title is to be delivered to the Etihad, Kalvin Phillips’ role could be pivotal. Literally.
Phillips is a City player and, like his club, international and agency stablemate Jack Grealish a year before him, will go from being an integral part of one side on the Premier League’s mid-to-lower rung to being a squad player – for now – at its summit. After injury limited him to only 20 league appearances in all competitions last season, he may end up round the same mark this year even if he stays fully fit. That is not a reflection on the 26-year-old’s ability but on how City’s first-choice holding midfielder has become borderline irreplaceable.
