Pep Guardiola breaks silence on Kalvin Phillips future as ex-Leeds United man nears Man City exit

Phillips expressed his desire to play regularly, something he has struggled to achieve whilst at the Etihad Stadium. Starts and, more recently, appearances have been hard to come by for the 27-year-old who made Gareth Southgate’s line-up in midweek as England defeated Italy in European Championships qualifying.

“I want to play as much football as possible. I know in the last year and half I haven’t done that. It’s something I’m going to have to think about. Hopefully my chance does come,” the Leeds-born midfielder said after the Three Lions’ qualification for next summer’s tournament in Germany had been confirmed.

Club manager Guardiola responded in kind, suggesting that the January transfer window could offer a solution to Phillips’ game-time issue.

“Until winter time Kalvin is at City,” the Spaniard said in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.

"When the transfer window is open then nobody knows,” he added. Phillips is the subject of reported interest from a number of Premier League clubs and has been tipped to join any number of teams, such as Liverpool and Newcastle United over the past couple of months.

An Elland Road return would seem out of the question somewhat, given Leeds’ summer business which saw Ethan Ampadu, Glen Kamara and Ilia Gruev join the club, in addition to the emergence of Archie Gray. In particular, Phillips’ desire for more regular football is likely linked to his international aspirations with England, aware he could miss out on Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad if he is not playing frequently in the build-up to the competition. Returning to the Championship is unlikely to better his chances of retaining his place with England.

However, Guardiola continued to assert Phillips has a usefulness at City on Friday, suggesting specific game-states are when the England midfielder can be especially beneficial to have in his squad.

"[It’s] Not a conversation I’ve had. Transfer window is over, we are here together.

"When we need a game when it’s transitions or something with chaos, Kalvin is perfect,” City’s boss said.

On the whole, it appears the likelihood of a January exit has increased given the comments made by both parties in the past week. Whether Phillips begins to feature more prominently at the Etihad Stadium in the coming weeks remains to be seen.