Which club will Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips play for next?

Thomas Ridley
23 November 2023

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola speaks to Kalvin Phillips

From a starring role at EURO 2020 to moving to Manchester City and watching their treble winners from the substitutes bench, it has been a mixed couple of years for England's Kalvin Phillips.

Forming a solid partnership with Declan Rice at the heart of the midfield that helped England come so close to European glory, there was no doubt that the young lad from Leeds was destined for bigger things.

It was his form in Marcelo Bielsa’s exciting Leeds United side that gained the attention of Gareth Southgate and England, before making a £42million move to Manchester City.

Phillips’ time at Man City has not been the move that the midfielder dreamt of, with him making only 16 Premier League appearances since jumping across the Pennines in July 2022.

Therefore, it’s no surprise to see Phillips reportedly evaluating his options ahead of the January transfer window and a loan move could be on the cards.

The 27-year-old will be desperate to make sure he is part of the 23-man squad that goes to Germany for Euro 2024 in the summer, but it looks increasingly likely that he’ll have to move away from Manchester to make the cut.

Planet Sport looks at some of the options for Phillips should he decide to move in January.

Newcastle United

Eddie Howe’s side have been flying high in recent times and could prove to be an attractive move for Phillips, as Howe has become renowned on Tyneside for the improvement some players have had under him, think along the lines of Joelinton and Sean Longstaff.

Central midfield will be a position that the Magpies will target in January due to the loss of Sandro Tonali to a betting ban, as well as that a recent injury crisis has raised questions regarding the depth of Howe’s squad.

Given that Howe deploys three central midfielders in a 4-3-3 formation, it is almost guaranteed that Phillips would get the minutes he needs if he made the move to the North East.

Bookies currently have him pegged at 5/1 to move to the Toon.

Aston Villa

Another interesting opportunity for Phillips could be a move to the Midlands, Unai Emery has got his Aston Villa side playing attractive football and has made Villa Park a fortress once again.

Phillips would also be joining a Villa side that is targeting European glory, with the Villans going well in the Europa Conference League, a tournament which they are one of the favourites to win.

However for Phillips, minutes on the field may be an issue as Villa’s midfielders are in excellent form, especially John McGinn and Douglas Luiz who seem undroppable at the moment, in addition Villa also have Jacob Ramsey who is currently on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

While Villa may seem like an extremely attractive opportunity for Phillips at the moment, but it is hard to see where he would fit in their starting XI. Less appealing at 10/1.

Tottenham Hotspur

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur side have been one of the surprise packages this season and are rumoured to hold an interest in Phillips.

Phillips would be a good addition to Postecoglou’s Spurs side, as the Aussie coach could unlock the form that he showed during his time at Leeds, where Phillips was a key part of Bielsa’s energetic team.

Also Spurs (8/1 to sign Phillips) are light on bodies in the middle of the park at the moment, so a move to North London could be an option for Phillips.

Juventus

The current favourite destination for the England midfielder is Turin, Juventus have had a mixed couple of years and are a shadow of their former selves.

However, Phillips would be almost guaranteed some form of European football if he made a permanent switch, with The Old Lady regulars in the Champions League. They would been there this season if it wasn’t for their points deduction.

Juventus also are dealing with their own crisis on the field, with their central midfield options looking depleted as Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli are suspended, while Manuel Locatelli is also out injured.

With Phillips set to be of the most sought after central midfielders in the January window, the 36 time Italian champions could well turn their attentions to him to solve their midfield crisis.

At 2/1 Phillips might have to start brushing up on his Italian over Christmas.

Stay at Manchester City

C'mon Kalvin surely this isn't doing you any good getting splinters on the bench. The bigger question might be whether Pep Guardiola will let him leave.