Kalvin Phillips has featured in just two of Manchester City’s last seven Premier League games since returning from a shoulder injury in mid-November as Rodri remains a regular in midfield under Pep Guardiola.
The 27-year-old knew he’d play second fiddle to the Spanish international upon his arrival from Leeds United, but Rico Lewis’ recent positional shift might push him further down the pecking order.
Pep Guardiola has used Lewis in midfield of late, starting the right-back alongside Rodri in a deep-lying role against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, so Phillips appears to have added competition.
The 27-year-old has amassed 17 minutes of top-flight football in two months, come off the bench in the 86th minute of City’s 1-0 win over Chelsea (January 5) while being introduced in the 77th minute of their 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers (January 22) on Saturday.
Phillips was an unused substitute five times since November, so he’s not had much football in his debut season. And if the England international is having to compete with the highly-rated Lewis, playing time at club level will remain hard to come by.
In other news, Pep Guardiola has a favourite Man City player in Manuel Akanji
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