Read Man City have already questioned Manchester City’s pursuit Kalvin Phillips, noting that the 26-year-old would be behind Rodri in the pecking order if signed while not having the retention statistics required to operate in the role, but it does appear Pep Guardiola wants Phillips regardless.
Clearly the City manager sees enough potential to bring him to the Etihad Stadium, but Alan Hutton warned the English international must be prepared to learn from Guardiola before he can think about holding down a regular spot in the side.
He told Football Insider: “It’s going be difficult for him to break straight into the squad. You have to be willing to learn the Pep way, which is difficult. You have to be very structured but I think he’s that type of player. It’s up to him to show Pep that he can take on instructions and play (his) way.”
That’s easier said than done, however, Read Man City previously noted Phillips’ pass completion (81.8%) is worse than Rodri (91.8%), Ilkay Gundogan (91.1%) and Fernandinho (88.7%) while he averages 46.2 passes per game compared to Rodri’s 87.5, so he’d need a lot of work to become an effective City player.
The big question is whether Guardiola would pay £50m for a backup option in midfield. Phillips would tick the homegrown quota and is an excellent ball-winner, so there are pros to signing him. But his injury woes over the last 12 months and inferioir ball-playing ability might be a sticking point.
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In other news, Man City player closes in on Arsenal move, name trends on Twitter as reunion looms
Paid £100 Million for back-up Grealish, so why not? 🙂
despite not been good compared to rodri at these moment,i think he has the quality to learn and attain it