Pep Guardiola welcomes Kalvin Phillips' Man City transfer decision

Pep Guardiola welcomed the decision from Kalvin Phillips to stay at Manchester City this season rather than take on a new challenge. Phillips moved from Leeds last summer in a £45m move but endured a disastrous season, first with injury and then form after being called out by his manager for returning 'overweight' from the break after the World Cup.

The midfielder struggled for any game time and went into the summer with his future at the club uncertain after just 12 months. Saturday's opponents West Ham were one of the teams that took an interest in Phillips and the competition at the Etihad intensified as Bernardo Silva stayed and Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes came in.

However, the England international turned down opportunities to leave in order to stay and fight for minutes at City. Juanma Lillo gave Phillips his first minutes of the season off the bench against Fulham, and the 27-year-old then started for England against Scotland during the international break.

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Guardiola was happy to see him perform for his country and is hoping to be able to count on Phillips moving forward. "We talked with him and the club with the chance to maybe go on loan because he did not have a lot of minutes but he decided ‘no, I want to stay’. He is more than welcome," he said.

"As a good guy who accepts everything and stays, they are welcome. When we finish the transfer window, every player here is part of the family and are going to help.

"I’m really pleased for the game he played because he is an exceptional guy and I love working with these kinds of people, as I’ve said many