Ipswich Town are reportedly eyeing up a move for Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips, with Aston Villa, Fulham and Everton also keen on the Englishman.
Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has reportedly attracted interest from Ipswich Town.
The 28-year-old made the high-profile switch from Leeds United to the blue side of Manchester during the summer transfer window of 2022 for a fee of £42.5m.
After initially impressing at Man City, Phillips struggled massively for first-team minutes, understandably falling behind the likes of Rodri in the pecking order.
Pep Guardiola claimed following the 2022 World Cup that the former Leeds man was “overweight” and unable to fulfill the roles of a midfielder in his side.
Over a troubled two-year spell at the Etihad, Phillips has made 31 appearances across all competitions for the Premier League holders, scoring on one occasion.
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Man City’s Phillips wanted by Ipswich?
According to talkSPORT, there is another top-flight club now in the race for the services of out-of-favour Man City midfielder Phillips this summer.
The report states that Ipswich have registered an interest in the player, who has represented England 31 times since his senior international debut in 2020.
For the first time in two decades, the Tractor Boys are back in the Premier League and looking to recruit some top-flight quality as they aim to avoid the drop.
As well as Kieran McKenna‘s side, it is understood that Aston Villa and Fulham are also considering moves for Phillips ahead of the August 31 deadline.
It was reported earlier this month that Sean Dyche‘s Everton were leading Unai Emery‘s Villans in the race for the ex-West Ham United loanee.
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Portman Road could be a new home for Phillips
Ever since he stepped foot into the Man City locker room two years ago, it never seemed likely that Phillips would be an integral part of Guardiola’s plans.
A temporary move to the London Stadium for the second half of the 2023-24 term was meant to revitalise the midfielder’s career, although a mixture of poor performances and off-field incidents combined to produce a difficult time at West Ham.
Phillips featured quite heavily in pre-season for the Citizens, albeit massively out of position in defence, from where Guardiola believes that the 28-year-old is able to avoid his weakness of playing in small spaces.
Key to his success at Leeds, the former England international needs to feel trusted and comfortable on the football pitch, with Ipswich potentially a good place to receive that reassurance once again.