Kalvin Phillips signed for Manchester City from his boyhood club, Leeds United, for a reported fee of £41million, but since his monumental move, he has only managed to appear in five of the Blues' games this season, all coming from the bench.
When Philips arrived at the Etihad, he certainly would have expected more opportunities than he has been given thus far. However, his role was always going to be as a second option to arguably one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, Rodri.
In his previous side Leeds, the Yorkshireman played a pivotal role in their rise and return to the premier league under Marcelo Bielsa, a man City manager Pep Guardiola famously admires. So, with the two clubs having similar playing philosophies and styles of play, what’s made it so difficult for Phillips to at least make Rodri look over his shoulder?
