Just 18 months on from leaving Leeds United, Kalvin Phillips is on the move again this month.
Phillips departed his boyhood club in the summer of 2022 for Manchester City in a deal worth around £42 million, and despite winning the treble last season, it is a move that just has not worked out.
Having been a key player at Leeds, Phillips has started just two Premier League games in the entire time he has been at City, both of which came after they had already been mathematically crowned champions last season. It has clearly affected him.
With the EUROs coming up in the summer, Phillips has recognised the need to go and play regularly and so is set to seal a loan move to West Ham United for the rest of the season.
As the book closes on his time at City, Phillips can now reflect on his decision to leave Leeds honestly. However, according to the Daily Mail, the 28-year-old still believes it was the right decision for his career as he exits the club a better player than what he went in.
Phillips stands by City decision
Phillips has admitted himself that his confidence levels have been low during his time at City, even calling on former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa at his lowest last season.
Low confidence levels do not necessarily mean that he has regressed, though. Quite simply, he has not ever been given a run of games to find his best form.
At the same time, Rodri was, and still is, the best holding midfielder in world football at the moment and City just are not the same team when he isn’t playing. With that in mind, regular football was never going to happen.
Training with players like him, Kevin de Bruyne, Phil Foden and more every day, though, will have undoubtedly bettered him as a player, even if he has not been able to show it on the pitch.
With that all being said, the pressure is now on him to go and show that at West Ham, who are a side more at his level. If he fails to perform, questions will be asked again as to why he ever left Leeds.
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