Injuries, weight concerns and Pep's trust - where has it all gone wrong for Kalvin Phillips at Man City?

The first time Kalvin Phillips spoke to media as a Manchester City player, the task ahead of him was clear. How can he hope to get minutes ahead of Rodri.

He insisted he was good enough to play at City and learn under Pep Guardiola. He insisted he could play alongside Rodri, rather than instead of him.

Eighteen months later, and Phillips is staring at an exit from City after just 31 appearances for the club, of which just six have been starts, at an average of under half an hour per appearance. He is unlikely to reach the 1,000-minute mark in sky Blue, and City have paid £46,000 per minute he has played. Or £1.35m per appearance.

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The ultimate nail in an already-shut coffin could come as Phillips may well be overlooked for the FA Cup visit of Championship strugglers Huddersfield on Saturday. With a January exit increasingly likely, the risk of injury or cup-tying the midfielder far outweigh the benefits of playing him.

So as Phillips stares at a dramatic climb-down from his move from Leeds, what has gone wrong for the £42m man who was meant to be a long-term solution in the midfield and took Vincent Kompany's iconic number four shirt?

Phillips' City career didn't get off to a good start when he missed the grand unveiling of the summer's four signings - including Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez - because he picked up Covid. That did, however, allow for a more in-depth chat in the team hotel in Houston on the summer tour, where Phillips declared that he would never have joined Manchester United before picking City.

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