Pep Guardiola still believes Kalvin Phillips could have a future at Manchester City.
The former Leeds United midfielder, who joined the Cityzens two years ago in a deal worth a reported £42 million, has struggled at the Etihad.
Awarded just five Premier League starts since his transfer the 28-year-old was forced to accept a loan move to West Ham for the second half of last season.
However, after enduring a torrid time with the Hammers, the midfielder’s latest setback saw him excluded from the England squad for this summer’s EUROs.
And with the new season now underway, Phillips, who is desperate to reignite his career, has recently been unveiled as Ipswich Town’s latest loanee.
Pep Guardiola adament Kalvin Phillips does have Man City future
The Yorkshire-born playmaker has teamed up with Kieran McKenna and joined the Tractor Boys on a season-long loan, and Guardiola believes the move was the best this for his underperforming number eight.
“He has to have minutes, he has to recover game time, play, play, play, play,” the City boss told reporters, as quoted by the Mirror.
“And we thought that maybe he would not have the minutes he would have, that he deserves to have.”
And surprisingly, although Guardiola has barely used Phillips, the Spaniard has kept the Etihad door open for him.
“It’s better for him to have minutes to maybe, in the future, have the chance to come back to Man City,” he added.
Phillips has four years left on his deal so there is still time for him to turn it around but a solid season at Portman Road is an absolute necessity.
First up for Phillips and his new Ipswich side is a tricky home Premier League tie against Arne Slot’s Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.