Kalvin Phillips reveals the real reason behind his decision to leave was Pep Guardiola’s public comments, describing the English international as “overweight.” This eventually resulted in him moving to West Ham United in the 2023/24 January window on loan with an option to buy.
Guardiola’s Public Comments on Phillips’ Fitness Ultimately Led to His Transfer
What Guardiola Said
Speaking to The Times in an interview, Phillips revealed the toughest time in his career was following Guardiola’s public comments, describing him as “overweight.” “After the World Cup was probably the toughest, when Pep came out and said I was overweight. He was right to do so, but there are different ways to go about it,” he said. “It took a big knock on my confidence and how I felt at City. My family were not happy about it, either. Especially Mum.”
“People can say overweight, overweight for some people is like 10kg, I was probably 1.5kg over my weight target.” Phillips explained that the lack of fitness was unfortunate, partly due to a mistake in communication. “I think obviously Pep was frustrated that I didn’t come back into training early, but it was just a miscommunication between the people that worked at City and myself.”
What Went Wrong at Manchester City?
West Ham signed the midfielder on a loan until the end of the season, and they have a buy-option clause of around £40 million. This seemed like an inevitable turning point in the England international’s career. Phillips was once a regular amongst Southgate’s men, featuring in all seven England games in the country’s last Euros tournament. At this point, he was wanted by several Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Manchester City.
However, since joining the Citizens in the 2022/23 season for a fee of around £42 million, Phillips has mustered just 31 appearances in 18 months. In fact, for the first part of the 2023/24 season, the 28-year-old only earned 89 minutes of game time in the league. This came as a result of his ongoing fitness issues, the likes of Rodri to compete with to start, and of course, the “overweight” comments, which took a hit on Phillips’ confidence.
The chances of Gareth Southgate considering Phillips for the Euros squad have been low since his City move. Phillips himself acknowledges that he “definitely wouldn’t have been there [at the Euros]” had he not left Manchester City in January. “He [Gareth Southgate] influenced me to stay in England. West Ham came in, and I thought it was the right place to go.”
An Opportunity for Phillips to Regain Confidence
A loan with West Ham is a brilliant opportunity for Phillips to raise his fitness levels and find his love for the sport once more. Thus far, he has made an appearance in all three of the Hammers’ Premier League fixtures since joining the club. While he is yet to make an impact, the game time is sure to help the player work back his match sharpness.
Meanwhile in East London, David Moyes’ men have enjoyed some successful periods during the season, but also some rough moments. West Ham currently sit 8th in the Premier League and also have the UEFA Europa League knockouts to look forward to, having topped their European group. Hammers fans will be hoping to see their team end the season on a high and hopefully establish some consistency in results.
