The last few years have not been kind to the Englishman, who emerged as a star from Leeds United’s academy, with him failing to pull up trees during a six-month loan stint with West Ham United. Now, his career has come to a crossroads.

Man City Set to Offload Phillips This Summer

Pre-season centre-back gimmick hasn’t convinced club chiefs

A move to Manchester City beckoned on the back of starring for his boyhood club but he, understandably, struggled to dislodge the likes of Rodri for a starting spot in Pep Guardiola’s starting line-up.

Phillips, 28, spent the latter half of 2023/24 on loan in east London, chalking up a mere 320 minutes of action, and thus failed to convince West Ham chiefs to sign him permanently.

Now back in Manchester, GIVEMESPORT sources understand that there is no change in his employers’ stance: Phillips is still to be sold this summer, with Aston Villa having reportedly submitted a loan bid.

GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Phillips is Manchester City’s 18th most-expensive player ever.

Since returning, the Leeds-born ace, whose contract expires in the summer of 2028, has been playing in the heart of defence in pre-season, proving Guardiola’s lack of trust in terms playing the £150,000-per-week earner in the centre of the park, according to GMS sources.

Despite boasting the likes of the aforementioned Rodri and Mateo Kovacic, GMS sources have revealed that boss Guardiola and his well-drilled entourage will scour the market for an ideal replacement for the Englishman once he’s found a new club.

Everton Exploring Loan Move for Phillips

Man City ‘ideally’ looking for permanent sell

GIVEMESPORT sources have stated that, despite impressing during the off-season, Manchester City chiefs have no plan to play Phillips in the heart of the defence given the plethora of talent they already have at their disposal in that area, including John Stones and Nathan Ake.

Ideally, Manchester City would offload the midfielder on a permanent deal but, as a club, they are under the impression that it’s difficult to prove his value to would-be buyers, especially given his lack of game time in recent years.

As such, reverting towards a loan move certainly has potential this summer – and signing Phillips, who has racked up just 31 appearances for the Etihad Stadium-based outfit since his £45 million-worth arrival, on a temporary basis is something Everton would look at, GMS sources insist.

Especially with Amadou Onana’s recent exit, Toffees boss Dyche could be the calibre of manager to get Phillips back to the peak of his powers, while giving him another chance of proving his worth in the English top flight.

According to GMS sources, it’s at that point in the summer transfer window that both Phillips and his Premier League employers may consider any ‘serious avenue’ where playing time is guaranteed, solely just to pour cold water on the situation.

All statistics per Transfermarkt – correct as of 08/08/2024