‘It’s time to move on’ – Man City fans react as £42m star set to leave in January after Guardiola‘s latest glaring snub

Manchester City and Kalvin Phillips are increasingly likely to part ways in January after Pep Guardiola‘s latest glaring snub of the England international.

City crashed to a second straight defeat in the Premier League. It was yet another occasion where City were stung in the absence of Rodri.

Pep chose not to use Phillips as his replacement on Sunday this time in favour of an 18-year-old. That is meant as no disrespect to Rico Lewis, who is already a fine footballer fully deserving of his place in the Manchester City’s starting XI.

Yet when you analyse Guardiola’s selection, it’s pertinent to stress the champions signed Phillips for £42million.

When Lewis was substituted, John Stones – a centre-back – took the teenager’s place. What more is there left to say? Guardiola is making it as clear as he possibly can.

It leaves Phillips, who has failed to stand out on his two Premier League starts this season, staring down the barrel of a decision he opted to defer in the summer.

Pep Guardiola’s side were open to letting him leave in the summer but it was the midfielder himself who decided to stay at the club as he felt leaving would be admitting defeat too early after his transfer from Leeds United.

Now according to inews, the most likely outcome for Kyle Phillips is a loan move in January when there will be “plenty of interest”.

As per the report, Phillips is likely not to be short of takers. He had plenty of interest in the summer with Newcastle United, Westham United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich making an enquiry on the availability of the England international.

The report was shared on Twitter by City Xtra and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters.

@LeibeFutbol: “Best move for everyone. When Rico Lewis is playing before him the writing was on the wall.”

@Juniigen: “Pep playing Bernardo told us everything. He trusts Rico more than him, it’s time to move on.”

@mcfc9320group: “It’s a shame but it needs resolving now, First and foremost for Kalvin because he would get into about 15 PL sides so he’s not a bad player but sadly he doesn’t seem to fit in with Pep’s style of play. Let the lad go and let him build his career again.”

@ItsNotOverTill1: “Loaning him is the best option, then let’s see what happens from there”

@Emerald_mf: “He needs to go and get regular game time elsewhere, a loan will be good for him”

@dhmcfc: “I love Phillips, but he really can’t play that DM role for us. He’s more of a counter-attacking team DM than a possession-based team DM. We need someone who’s already used to our system.”