England need Kalvin Phillips to get a transfer out of Man City

England manager Gareth Southgate is not in the habit of pushing his players into transfers, but there must be a part of him desperate to make an exception for Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

Last June, Southgate joked about how some of his squad were “calling each other out” ahead of a summer in which Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, James Maddison, Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson all moved clubs to start a new chapter of their history. careers.

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Phillips has remained on the same page, creating a troubling distance between the importance he has to the country and that of his club. This creates a tension that will ultimately be unbearable for Southgate given that no manager would continue to choose a player so irrevocably marginalized on the domestic front.

On that basis, many would have gotten rid of him long before, but Southgate is of the opinion that Rice and Phillips are England’s only viable options to operate as a single pivot in the 4-3-3 shape that has long seemed his preferred approach. Yet England’s 3-1 win over Italy on Tuesday night featured a 4-2-3-1 formation that replicated the system used to impressive effect in September’s 3-1 victory against Scotland, maximizing Bellingham’s burgeoning talent in a more attacking number 10. role.

This midfield composition also allows Southgate to take over the central axis from Phillips and Rice who helped England qualify for the Euro 2020 final. This pair has become the center of a widely held opinion that Southgate’s inherent conservatism was perhaps preventing England from fully realizing their attack. potential – explaining the move to 4-3-3 after this tournament – but the two main reasons for using Rice and Phillips in the same formation arguably still apply.

England’s collection of centre-backs does not compare favorably to those of other elite nations, although there is hope that Marc Guehi, Levi Colwill and one or two others could develop in the coming seasons. And the country is yet to produce a deep-lying midfielder capable of controlling matches in circumstances such as the Euro 2020 final, when Marco Verratti and Jorginho helped Italy claw their way back.

Rice is clearly improving as a player – his £100m summer move to Arsenal has exposed the 24-year-old to a new level of expectation – while Bellingham, 20, threatens to become a genuine talent of generation. if he isn’t already, with 10 goals in 10 games for new club Real Madrid.

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Part of the reason Southgate has been so defensive about the criticism Henderson has faced during this international break is the role he played in helping Bellingham settle off the field. Likewise, on the pitch, Southgate saw Henderson’s discipline as a necessary counterbalance to Bellingham’s precociousness – so much so that both men started in England’s 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat against France last December.

Yet this came in the form of a 4-3-3 and while the advantage of switching to 4-2-3-1 allows Bellingham to influence the game in more central areas, moving wherever he likes from a No.10 position, so Southgate He will probably be tempted to seek that balance in the Phillips-Rice axis in Germany next summer. The duo certainly helped control the game against Italy and Bellingham’s contribution for England’s second goal, winning the ball before rushing to assist Marcus Rashford, underlined just how game-changing he can be in this position.

How much easier it would then be for Southgate if Phillips played regularly at club level.

The furor around Henderson would subside if he were a less visible member of the team – although clearly a valued member of the management group – and Phillips could take on the level of notoriety that led to him being voted player Englishman of the Year for 2020. -21 (Having started every game of England’s run to the Euro 2020 final.)

For that to happen, Phillips needs to start playing football again and there are few signs of that under Man City boss Pep Guardiola. The Premier League returns this weekend with City hosting Brighton and Guardiola can welcome Rodri back into his midfield following a three-match suspension.

But, despite being without his first-choice defensive midfielder, Guardiola opted to use Phillips only in the game he was least interested in – Newcastle’s Carabao Cup third round exit – and then opted for Bernardo Silva and the 18-year-old. defender Rico Lewis in the middle of the park at Arsenal in the biggest game of the season so far. This followed Guardiola’s admission last month that he had virtually failed to get the best out of Phillips since his £45million arrival from Leeds United in July 2022, saying: “We have our own specific way of playing and [he] sometimes struggles in certain areas, while the previous [Leeds playing style] was perfect [for him]”.

Before that, Guardiola had called Phillips “overweight” upon his return from the 2022 World Cup – a damning adjective that could follow him for the rest of his career – and this summer City made a late move to sign Rice before he doesn’t leave West Ham. for Arsenal, another sign of Phillips’ marginalization.

Phillips signed a six-year contract with City in the summer of 2022, but he has only made 26 appearances and started five times (two in the Premier League) since. His total club playing time this season stands at 167 minutes; After the Italy match, Phillips has now played 188 minutes for England this season.

He naturally wants to succeed at City but Guardiola doesn’t trust him. And he seems belatedly – ​​reluctantly – to get the message.

“As a footballer you always want to play,” he said on Tuesday evening. “I want to play as much as possible, but I haven’t done that in a year and a half. I always try to make sure I’m ready for whatever happens. I want minutes, I want to go to the Euros. We’ll see what happens.

Asked about the need for more regular minutes, Phillips added: “I agree with Gareth on that. I know myself that I have to play and compete every weekend. That’s something I’m going to have to make a decision over the next few months.”

Although he resisted summer interest, Bayern Munich, West Ham and Newcastle are among the clubs who have been linked with moves for him in January. A transfer would surely be the best thing for all parties involved. Not the least Southgate.