With Man City having won another Premier League title, setting a record for doing so in the process, one might think that all is rosy in the garden at the Etihad Stadium.
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For one of Pep Guardiola’s players, however, nothing could be further from the truth.
It takes a special kind of talent to fit into the Catalan’s demanding way of playing, and only the very, very best are going to become regulars under him.
Any sign of a drop off in form or an intention to seek riches elsewhere isn’t generally met with a ‘no can do’ attitude.
Rather, Guardiola is more than happy for players to go, preferring instead to replace them with others already at the club or with a big name from elsewhere.
As arguably the best team in the world over recent seasons, the cachet that playing for Man City has at present tends to have the effect that whomever Guardiola wants, Guardiola gets.
One player signed by him, however, was almost instantly written off as a mistake.
Man City flop Kalvin Phillips could be on the way to Roma
The Athletic (subscription required) noted that Guardiola and his technical department had realised their error in signing Kalvin Phillips from Leeds in one of the earliest training sessions involving the player.
After subsequently hardly being played by City, Phillips eventually went out on loan to West Ham at the start of 2024, but that move turned out to be even more of a disaster, as one mistake after another dented his confidence.
By the end of his loan spell he wasn’t being played by David Moyes, and his 10 appearances for the Hammers totalled just 320 minutes (WhoScored). They included a red card and not once did he manage a full game for the East Londoners.
His nightmare could soon be over, however, as The Sun are reporting that the playing is considering moving abroad, and all of RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg and Serie A giants, Roma, are interested in his services.