Report: Phillips may leave Manchester City in summer, after Leeds enquiry in January

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The Athletic claim Kalvin Phillips could leave Manchester City in the summer after a disappointing start to his spell with the Premier League champions – after reports claimed that Leeds, West Ham and Everton all made enquiries in January.

Phillips, 27, has struggled at City since leaving Leeds for Pep Guardiola’s side in the summer. The Euro 2020 finalist left Leeds for an initial fee of £42million in the summer, plus add-ons of £3million. Injury has hampered his City progress.

While he did win a place in England’s World Cup squad, he lost his starting spot. Jude Bellingham came into the side, while Jordan Henderson was ahead of Phillips in the pecking order. He returns to City, warming The Etihad bench.

On deadline day, a bizarre report from The Sun actually claimed that Leeds – along with West Ham and Everton – were in talks with Manchester City over a move to bring him back to Elland Road on loan. City decided to keep Phillips.

Now, The Athletic report that he could leave: “Only just arrived, like Akanji, but curiously his future is far less assured: there are rumblings at City which suggest a summer transfer for the 27-year-old is not completely off the cards.”

Phillips could leave Manchester City in summer after Leeds made enquiry

It was a weird one to hear that Leeds had asked about Phillips coming back to Leeds. But, he has really struggled at City to adapt in his first year. Hopefully for City and Phillips, it is a similar story to the likes of £100m Jack Grealish.

Grealish really struggled at City in his first 18 months at the club. But, in the last few weeks, it seems as though he is finally getting to grips with Pep Guardiola’s demands. He has had a hand in five goals in his last eight appearances.

It might be that it takes a year, or even two, for Phillips to get going at City. But he is now 27, a crucial period in his career. Does Phillips want to take that time to get going? Well, the report states that he could leave City in the summer.