Kalvin Phillips reacts to Erling Haaland’s message as Man City exits lined up
Erling Haaland and Kalvin Phillips are polar opposites when it comes to their parts in Pep Guardiola’s plans at Manchester City.
Guardiola and his Man City squad head into next season off the back of a first trophyless campaign since 2016–17, after their progress in the Club World Cup was ended by a shock round-of-16 defeat to Al-Hilal.
Man City had already spent close to £115million on new players before the Club World Cup in a bid to close the gap on Liverpool and Arsenal, but the Premier League’s top two have also strengthened since.
Haaland also had the lowest goalscoring tally of his City career so far with 34 goals in all competitions down on the 38 he managed in less games the season prior, as injuries took their toll on the Norwegian.
Haaland sends ‘Sweet’ message as Man City’s season finally ends
Man City‘s first official match of the 2024–25 campaign came against Celtic in a pre-season friendly on 23 July 2024, and almost a year player, the likes of Haaland are only just into their off-season breaks.
Haaland will have several new additions providing attacking support next term like Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki, but departures aplenty are expected this summer as Guardiola cuts down his squad size.
Football Insider revealed on 11 July that Kalvin Phillips headlines the list of out-of-favour players whom Guardiola will look to move on this summer, after unsuccessful loan moves to West Ham and Ipswich.
Phillips was one of several City players to respond to Haaland’s latest Instagram post (15 July) as the Norwegian and his girlfriend posed for a photo with the caption of: “Dolce (Sweet) nights in Rome”.
Phillips exit inevitable as Guardiola leans on Haaland
Football Insider Verdict
Man City are ready to sell off players from both their academy and first-team this summer, but Phillips has fallen between the cracks of the latter and his £42m move from Leeds has been a complete failure.
A return to the city of both Phillips and Haaland’s births remains a possibility for the out-of-favour City midfielder this summer, but any serious approach from Leeds will have to wait until the end of August.
Tijjani Reijnders‘ arrival has helped to bolster Guardiola’s midfield after the exit of Kevin De Bruyne, and while the Belgian’s departure has seen Haaland elevated into a leadership role, there’s still no chance of Phillips re-railing his City career.