No matter how many times Pep Guardiola believes each player will be crucial in the season’s remaining games, Kalvin Phillips hasn’t been at all.
Phillips has had a very challenging first season since joining Manchester City in the summer, despite the glowing smile on his face following each victory. His learning to play in Guardiola’s team was delayed by early injuries, and he hasn’t received many kicks since.
The midfielder has made as many starts for England over the past year as he has for his new club, despite only playing a scant 404 minutes of game time all season. Even most of his cameos as a substitute, with the Blues leading by three goals, have lasted less than ten minutes.
It comes as little surprise given that the 37 minutes against Leicester, which made up the majority of his Premier League playing time this season, were disastrous. With City leading 3-0, Guardiola likely believed his team was invincible, but Phillips’ awful goal gave Leicester some solace, and the Foxes had several chances to square the score.
Given that Phillips is slower than his colleagues and appears to be out of his depth in the team, it makes sense that Guardiola doesn’t feel comfortable relying on him to play a significant role in crucial games. Nevertheless, given that Phillips has only played a small amount of time for his new management, it is not entirely his fault that he is unaware of what is expected of him.
Many of Guardiola’s new additions are infamous for needing at least a year to adjust to his ways, and that’s with regular playing time. Even Rodri encountered difficulties throughout his first year. Due to his time spent on the sidelines, Phillips was already playing catch-up and hasn’t had a chance to make up for lost time.
But that might be about to alter. If Nottingham Forest defeats Arsenal on Saturday night, City could already have secured the Premier League championship; however, if that doesn’t happen, they can do it themselves by defeating Chelsea on Sunday. The pressure would be off before the next finals, which would give City a great boost. Winning the title with two or three games left would also provide Phillips a huge opportunity.
The 27-year-old has yet to begin for City in a Premier League match, but if City has gone undefeated at the top of the table, that chance will undoubtedly come against Brentford and Brighton. In addition to allowing Rodri, John Stones, or Ilkay Gundogan to have a break before a busy week, it may also offer Phillips enough playing time to begin to understand the demands of such a crucial position.
In the FA Cup semi-final, Phillips wasn’t trusted to start against Championship competition, but surely he will play when nothing is on the line? If this is the case and he plays well, it might be a terrific springboard for him to play a much larger role in the team next season. After a difficult first season, it wouldn’t be surprising if he suddenly became a much more crucial player; it has occurred before.
But if not, if Phillips is denied the opportunity to kick off games when there is essentially nothing at stake, well, that won’t be good at all. In either case, he will learn in the coming week exactly where he stands at City.