Pep Guardiola admits he feels bad for not giving Kalvin Phillips more playing time at Manchester City.
The midfielder made a big-money move from Leeds to the Etihad in 2022 but has made only two Premier League starts for Guardiola’s side, while loan spells at West Ham and Ipswich have also proved difficult.
Games
31
Goals
1
Assists
0
Yellow cards
3
Minutes played
914
Phillips, on £150,000-a-week, has not played for City since December 2023, but is now back training with City after an Achilles injury scuppered his chances of a summer move.
Asked why it had not worked out at City for the 29-year-old, Guardiola said:
City have had a stuttering start to the season, with Sunday’s draw against Arsenal leaving them eight points behind leaders Liverpool after only five games.
Guardiola believes the biggest difference to their years of dominance is a change in the prevailing playing style of the majority of teams.
The Catalan cited veteran Italian coach Gian Piero Gasperini, who spent nine years with Atalanta before moving to Roma this summer, as the key influencer in a more combative era.
Guardiola spoke about his players’ fatigue after the Arsenal draw, and he said: “More than the physicality, it’s the way that the opponents play.
“They are more and more aggressive in all departments, more man marking, don’t leave you spaces. In the last one or two years, it changed a lot. I don’t know if it will come back (to) what it was before and the teams have to adapt in a different way.
“You see Bournemouth, you see Brentford with Thomas Frank and now with Tottenham, going a lot in that way. And that’s why football is so nice, not always is it the same and you have to adapt with the players you have, the way you’re thinking, and especially in the way you want to attack.”
Next up for City is a trip to Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, where Guardiola will change his side for the first time in four games.
He confirmed James Trafford will start in goal but one player who will not feature is defender Abdukodir Khusanov, who is expected to miss three games with the injury he picked up against Arsenal.
The young Uzbek has started the last four games, and Guardiola spoke glowingly about his potential.
“He’s been really, really good against the tough, tough opponents we faced,” said the City boss. “He’s so young. He came in a season that was difficult for us. He’s incredible, he’s learned quick. You smell that he’s an incredible top signing for the next many, many years at this club. This guy will make a career in this club.”
