Danny Mills has claimed that Kalvin Phillips would not be a regular member of Manchester City’s starting XI if he signs from Leeds United. Rumours continue to gather pace regarding the Whites star’s future as Pep Guardiola’s side edge closer to making an approach.
The promise of Champions League football and the chance to win silverware is tough for anyone to turn down and at the age of 26, Phillips might not get the chance of such a big move again. Although, as plenty of players have shown in recent years, the grass isn’t always greener at the so-called ‘bigger clubs’.
Mills thinks it would be almost impossible for Phillips to displace Rodri in the Manchester City team and expects his game time to be limited if he moves across the Pennines. Jack Grealish was one of the players he singled out as a perfect example of how hard it can be to break into a side managed by Guardiola.
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“Would it be a great move for Kalvin Phillips? Of course it would, it means he will be challenging for trophies, undoubtedly the financial package would be huge,” claimed the former Leeds right-back on Sky Sports News. “If he goes to Man City, he does not walk into that first-team. I think he goes into that team as a squad player, Rodri is outstanding in that holding midfield role.
“City don’t play with two holding midfield players, they’ve got exceptional talent within that midfield area, if Kalvin Phillips went to Man City he’d be like Raheem Sterling, he will play 20 games maybe half the Premier League games he would start, he’d be in and out of the Champions League, games like that.
“We’ve seen with Jack Grealish, who struggled to fit into the Manchester City system, it’s a different way of playing, the expectations are huge, the pressure of having to win every week, having to be at your best every single week is different to other clubs and that will be a different challenge if he went there.”
