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Kalvin Phillips insists choice to leave Leeds United was “one of the best decisions” he’s made

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Image for Kalvin Phillips insists choice to leave Leeds United was “one of the best decisions” he’s made

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has revealed he has no regrets about leaving Leeds United for Pep Guardiola’s side, despite his struggles for playing time.

The summer of 2022 saw Leeds undergo a major rebuild after losing both Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips in the transfer window.

Both were replaced with significant investment as they set off for new challenges at Barcelona and Manchester City respectively.

How is Phillips getting on?

It’s fairly safe to say that Phillips hasn’t yet lived up to expectation at the Etihad just yet, unable to shake off injury issues that he had at Leeds with his shoulder, while playing second fiddle to arguably the best defensive midfielder in the world – Rodri.

His £42million transfer allowed Leeds to reinvest well with Tyler Adams and Marc Roca coming in for around £30million, while Leeds also spent £5million to sign Darko Gyabi from Man City.

The lack of impact from Phillips has been outlined by the fact that he played more minutes for England away to Italy on Thursday night (90) than he has in the Premier League so far this season (56).

What has he said about the move?

Despite his lack of minutes in the league, Phillips is happy with his decision to have joined the reigning Premier League champions, playing under one of the greatest managers ever.

Speaking on the Premier League YouTube channel, Phillips admitted it has been really tough for him to get used to his newfound role as more of a squad player at Man City, but he is relishing the opportunity.

He stated:

“It’s been very difficult to be honest. I knew as soon as I came into the team that I wasn’t going to be playing week-in week-out. I was going to have to build my way in and even now I’m still at that stage of building myself into the team. I’ve enjoyed it a lot and I’ve learnt a lot as well from the players and the manager, it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made.”

Will Leeds stay up?

Yes

Yes

No

No

All’s well that ends well.

Leeds got a very good fee in hindsight for a player that hasn’t yet justified how much he cost for Man City, while we also replaced him well.

It’s quite a common trend amongst Pep’s signings at Man City that they take a year or so to fully settle into the side, and you’re seeing the fruits of that labour with Jack Grealish more than anyone, who looks a vital player now.

Phillips might come into his own next season when he’s shaken off injury problems and got to grips fully with how Guardiola wants him to play.

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Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I've seen it all at Elland Road.