Roy Keane makes Kalvin Phillips ‘training’ claim amid Man City exit links for ex-Leeds United star

Roy Keane has issued his verdict on Kalvin Phillips’ struggles at Manchester City. Phillips looks likely to leave City despite only arriving on a big-money deal from Leeds United in the summer of 2022 having struggled for regular football under Pep Guardiola.

Phillips was meant to be the ideal cover for Rodri in the holding midfield role, but he has not convinced Guardiola of his abilities, struggling to fit into the Spaniard’s system of play at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola spoke recently about how he has failed to get the best out of the England international, who, he says, suited Marcelo Bielsa’s system much better.

While Phillips continues to fight for his place, those quotes from Guardiola, and indeed the Spaniard’s decision to keep Phillips on the bench even during Rodri’s suspension for the Arsenal clash, mean the writing appears to be on the wall for the former Leeds star. And with England likely to qualify for next summer’s Euro 2024, a January move is likely for Phillips, whether it’s a loan or permanent move as he seeks to ensure of his place in Gareth Southgate’s squad.

In the meantime, a legend of the position in Keane has been speaking about the situation, telling the Overlap : “[Guardiola] doesn’t trust him. He’s had a couple of chances. He played a few weeks ago. But he didn’t play him in the big game with all the injuries. He played at Newcastle two or three weeks ago in the cup game, and he didn’t do too much good. He didn’t do enough.

“You’ve got to win the manager’s trust. He [Guardiola] works with him every day in training. There’s a reason why he’s not playing and he doesn’t trust him. He watched him against Newcastle two weeks ago in a cup match and obviously went ‘I don’t like what I see’. So when it got to the Arsenal game he said ‘I don’t trust you’. He doesn’t believe he can do a job for him.”