- Phillips had chance to leave City on loan
- Stayed to fight for his place
- Has chance to play against West Ham
WHAT HAPPENED? The City boss made revelation after praising the out-of-favour midfielder's performance for England against Scotland and said he has a future in the team, especially due to the team's mini injury crisis.
WHAT THEY SAID: "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," Guardiola told a press conference on Friday. "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."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Phillips has played hardly any football for City since his £42 million ($52m) move from Leeds in 2022. He made only four starts all competitions last season and has only played six minutes this season. Phillips had the misfortune to get injured in a friendly against Barcelona at the start of the last season but failed to impress Guardiola after recovering. And the coach claimed he was overweight when he reported back after the World Cup. However he said he had been impressed with Phillips' attitude over the summer and praised his performance against Scotland. "First I want to say I’m really pleased for the game he played because he is an exceptional guy and I love working with these kind of people, as I’ve said many times," Guardiola added. "Of course, he has not had much minutes in the past, I don’t know what is going to happen but it is important for him, and for me as well, to have this good performance. He can improve, because the dynamic he came from was completely the opposite. He stayed with us and the players we have the squad that are now injured, it is important that he is ready. "
IN TWO PHOTOS:
Next Match
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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY? The treble winners visit West Ham on Saturday looking for a fifth-consecutive Premier League win.