Kalvin Phillips' nightmare Man City career: £7m per start, overweight claims and an inevitable January exit

Following his arrival from Elland Road, Phillips was an unused substitute in City's 2022 Community Shield defeat to Liverpool and came on for just a few minutes in their Premier League opener against West Ham, making his first start for his new side in a friendly against Barcelona.

But after making a positive first impression at Camp Nou, disaster struck when he was forced off with a shoulder injury.

He played no further games for a month after the injury, but returned to action in the Champions League away to Sevilla as a substitute and also came off the bench at home to Borussia Dortmund a week later.

But shortly afterwards, it was decided that Phillips needed surgery to treat his shoulder problem, which put him out of action for just under two months, only returning in early November for the Carabao Cup win over Chelsea.

Despite his long period out, Phillips was selected by Southgate for the World Cup in Qatar, coming on against Wales and Senegal although playing no part in England's quarter-final defeat by France. But Guardiola was not happy with Phillips and he was strangely absent from the City squad when the season resumed.

When asked about Phillips, the coach made a surprise revelation. He said: "He's not injured. He arrived overweight. He didn't arrive in the condition to do training sessions and to play." Phillips has since claimed he was not overweight, and admitted he found the criticism "hard to take".

He quickly set about returning to full fitness and was on the bench for City's next game at Leeds, although he was not brought on. It became a familiar story throughout the campaign, even as Guardiola began to make more use of his squad players in the Premier League run-in as the games came thick and fast in the team's quest to win the treble.

Phillips instead received another rebuke from Guardiola, with the coach urging him to provide more competition for Rodri, who had become an indisputable starter despite the Englishman's arrival. “He has to fight with Rodri, for the benefit of all of us," the City coach said in January. "Rodri cannot sleep and must have the feeling there is someone close to him to do it. He has to."

While City sped towards a historic treble, Phillips barely got off the bench. He ended the season making just two Premier League starts, both of which came after City had wrapped up the title, while he made no starts in the Champions League campaign.

He did start in the Carabao Cup at Southampton, but City were beaten in what Guardiola described as one of the worst performances of his time in charge of the club, with the coach hauling Phillips off in the second half.

Another rare start came in the FA Cup fifth round against Bristol City, but, most damningly, he did not start in the FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United, despite Guardiola resting the majority of his regular starters.

The sad truth is that Phillips' biggest contribution to City's treble success was pouring drink into Jack Grealish's mouth during the team's parade through Manchester after winning the Champions League.

Despite playing so little, Phillips vowed to stay at City and resisted a loan move. "My intention is to stay there. We have just won the treble, so there is no reason for me to leave other than if I am not playing," he said in June.

"I cannot give it 12 months and say ‘I am not playing so I am going to leave’. As you have seen with many players at City, it can take quite a while to cement yourself into the team. Hopefully I will enjoy my off-season and then work hard when I get back."

Phillips reported for pre-season training a week early in order to get as fit as possible for the new campaign, but once again found himself outside of Guardiola's plans.

Phillips was given an unexpected chance to stake his claim in Guardiola's line-up when Rodri was sent off against Nottingham Forest in September and received a three-match suspension. Phillips had impressed off the bench against Forest as City had to scrap to protect a 2-0 lead, and he looked set for a consistent run in the side, at least while the Spaniard was out.

However, he failed his first test, putting in a mediocre performance in the Carabao Cup defeat at Newcastle. He was then left out of the line-up against Wolves and Arsenal, games which City also lost. The defeats did not help Phillips' cause, though, as they merely underlined Rodri's importance to the team.

Having made no more starts for two months, Guardiola effectively admitted in December that he did not imagine Phillips ever playing for him consistently. Asked about the midfielder before City's visit to Luton, the coach gave a strikingly honest answer.

"I don’t know what will happen to Kalvin Phillips," Guardiola said. "He has good character, I’m so sorry I have not picked him. I visualise my team and select a team and I struggle to see him."

Phillips got one last hurrah when he was picked in City's final Champions League group game away to Red Star Belgrade. Like many of his previous starts, it was essentially a meaningless game for City as they had already qualified for the knockout stage as group winners.

Phillips was afforded his one moment in the sunshine when City were awarded a late penalty, and he was given the ball. Phillips scored from the spot, getting his first and more than likely last goal for the club.

Despite Phillips' previous hopes of salvaging his Man City career, the player and club have concluded that the best option is for him to leave.

Despite interest from Newcastle and Juventus, he has now joined West Ham on loan for the rest of the season. Although there is no option to buy in the deal, it appears inevitable that a permanent move away from the Etihad will happen this summer - either to the Hammers or another club below the elite.

Wherever Phillips ends up long-term, he will surely look back on his time at City as a missed opportunity. He may have increased his medal collection, but he never felt like he was genuinely part of Guardiola's history-makers.