“He hasn’t had the luck there” – Former Leeds star backs Kalvin Phillips to fight for Manchester City future | OneFootball

Former Leeds United standout Pablo Hernandez has backed Kalvin Phillips to turn his career around and fight a for place in the Manchester City squad once again.

Phillips made the jump from Leeds in the summer of 2022 after a stellar few seasons with the Yorkshire club and for England at international level, but the step up to Pep Guardiola’s side did not go as planned.

Having made just 16 Premier League appearances across two seasons, the 28-year-old eventually found a temporary home with West Ham on loan, in another move in which Phillips did not cover himself in glory.

In recent times however, Phillips impressed in pre-season for Manchester City before eventually being shipped out to Premier League newcomers Ipswich Town, where he will remain for the ongoing 2024/25 campaign.

Despite the trials and tribulations, former Leeds star Pablo Hernandez has come out and backed Phillips to rediscover the form that thrust him into stardom at Elland Road, and even potentially fight for his spot in the Manchester City squad once again.

“That year of promotion, Kalvin Phillips was a young player who had come out of the Leeds youth academy, a very important player for us and Manchester City paid €50 million I think for him,” he said, as relayed by Sport Witness.

“He hasn’t had the luck there; he hasn’t had the opportunity to prove himself. We know the quality of players there and in his position too, because he has had Rodri, who has been a regular for Guardiola and who I think is the best midfielder in the world.

“Kalvin has now had to look for minutes elsewhere, but he is a lad who physically is a plane, he is a bull, and he plays very good football. Hopefully now he can get his career back on track, prove his worth and come back to City tomorrow.”

Phillips has made three appearances for Ipswich Town this season as they look to find their footing in the Premier League, but he will likely have a mountain to climb if he has his sights set on returning to the Etihad.

Meanwhile, Manchester City are currently without Rodri in the midfield and have struggled as of yet to replace him with any sort of consistency, a job that was once thought of as Phillips’s main role for Pep Guardiola’s side.