Manchester City: England midfielder Kalvin Phillips has 'no reason' to leave club
- Published
Kalvin Phillips (centre) made 21 appearances in his first season with Manchester City, but started just 10 games
Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips says he intends to stay with the Treble-winning club despite not featuring "as much as I wanted to do".
The England man made 10 starts after joining the club for £45m last summer from Leeds United.
The 27-year-old has recently been linked with moves to Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham.
"I cannot give it 12 months and say I am not playing so I am going to leave," Phillips said.
"My intention is to stay there. We have just won the Treble, so there is no reason for me to leave."
Speaking to the media after scoring his first international goal in England's 7-0 victory over North Macedonia on Monday night, he explained injuries had contributed to his slow start at Etihad Stadium.
"To be honest I was injured before I even went to City, so that is one of the main reasons why I was injured so much," he added.
Phillips missed 16 games early last season with a shoulder injury, but a successful operation in September allowed him to recover in time to make England's World Cup squad for Qatar 2022.
"Everything is fine with my body, I will continue to work hard next season and hopefully do well when I go back to City," Phillips added.
He added that he has "nothing to worry about now" after recovering from his injuries.
However, Phillips stressed that it takes time to "cement yourself" into Pep Guardiola's side.
"I came to Manchester City to win trophies and we won the trophies, but I didn't play as much as I wanted to do," said Phillips.
He said he had spoken to team-mates Nathan Ake and Jack Grealish about their second seasons at the club, with both players having similarly struggled to cement starting spots soon after their big-money moves.
After struggling in his first season after joining City from Aston Villa for £100m, Grealish went on to make 50 appearances in 2022-23, scoring five goals and making 11 assists overall as the team won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
"They all said the first 12 months were the hardest of their City careers but after that, it doesn't become easy, but easier," Phillips explained.
"I'm just going to go away for the off-season and enjoy myself with my family and girlfriend and friends and then come back fighting.
"I will definitely speak to Pep. I'll probably leave it until I go back for pre-season, but I'll just speak to him and have a good conversation,"
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