Pep Guardiola makes shocking Kalvin Phillips and Leeds United admission
Kalvin Phillips’ career has taken a nosedive since he left Leeds United to join Manchester City back in 2022.
Phillips was in the 2020 Leeds squad that won promotion back to the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa.
Under Bielsa, Phillips became one of the finest holding midfielders in England, earning him a place in the England EURO 2020 squad, in which he featured prominently throughout that tournament.
However, injuries and a lack of gametime over recent years look to have completely shattered his confidence, as Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola made a shocking admission about his player.
Pep Guardiola admits he ‘feels bad’ for Kalvin Phillips
Phillips was named in Manchester City’s Premier League squad for the upcoming season after returning to the club following underwhelming loan spells at West Ham and Ipswich, respectively, across the last two seasons, but chances of him being played regularly are seemingly slim.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of City’s Carabao Cup clash against Huddersfield, Guardiola explained that the 29-year-old midfielder would not feature as he is in London with his partner ahead of the birth of his second child.
An Achilles surgery at the start of the window prevented Phillips from leaving Manchester permanently, with Leeds being one of the clubs linked with Phillips.
Guardiola also admitted he mismanaged the midfielder, whom he signed for an initial £42million.
“Maybe I didn’t give him enough minutes, I don’t know. Rodri was fit, like our father, protective of 10 sons. The lack of minutes, the way we played, completely different from Leeds with Marcelo (Bielsa),
“It’s just the environment, how they connect with the way we play, with teammates. And players play good when they have minutes, games and I didn’t give them. And when that’s happened, I feel bad,” Guardiola said.
This is something the Spaniard perhaps should have considered before forking out an eyewatering amount of money on Phillips, only to use him as a benchwarmer.
Pep Guardiola only has himself to blame for Kalvin Phillips’ error
Phillips was never going to start every game at City, but at his best, he was more than capable of being a rotation option for Rodri, with his ability to break up play and his impressive range of passing.
With Guardiola’s side typically competing on all fronts, there should have been more than enough gametime to go around for Phillips to feel like a valuable member of the squad.
Instead, he opted to let him rot on the bench, handing Phillips just two Premier League starts in his first season at City.
All the good work Bielsa did with Phillips, Guardiola seemed to magically undo, and now Phillips is left to pick up the pieces of what remains of his career.
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