Phillips set to join Ipswich on season-long loan

Kalvin Phillips won the last of his 31 England caps in 2023

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is set to join newly promoted Ipswich Town on loan for the season.

Phillips has failed to break into the City starting side since his £45m move from Leeds United two years ago.

He joined West Ham on loan for the second half of last season in an effort to secure an England spot for Euro 2024 but a combination of poor form and injury wrecked his chances of making Gareth Southgate’s squad.

The loan deal does not include a sale option.

Although City manager Pep Guardiola spoke highly of the 28-year-old during the club’s pre-season tour of the United States, he was left on the bench for Saturday’s Community Shield success against Manchester United, even though star midfielder Rodri was not involved.

A number of clubs, including Fulham, were interested in signing Phillips but Ipswich appear to have won the chase, with the deal expected to be completed by Friday morning.

What Guardiola & Southgate said about Phillips

Nizaar Kinsella, BBC Sport senior football news reporter:

Phillips has endured a troubled time since joining City on a six-year deal in July 2022.

He arrived as a fully-fledged England international midfielder after a sensational period at his boyhood club Leeds.

Then aged 26, his career trajectory seemed on the up.

But he struggled to adapt to Pep Guardiola’s style of play and was labelled “overweight” by his former manager when he returned from the Qatar World Cup in January 2023.

Phillips said the comments were "a big knock to my confidence" before Guardiola later apologised.

Insiders describe how Phillips' six-month loan spell at West Ham was a perfect storm.

He arrived at the club not match fit and began making a series of mistakes that would ultimately cost him his Euro 2024 place, having been a regular in Gareth Southgate's qualifying campaign.

Such was his influence during the majority of Southgate's tenure, he was still the England manager's mind during Euro 2024, when he said during a rocky group stage "we don't have a natural replacement for Kalvin Phillips".

It’s a sign of both Phillips' fall and Ipswich's rapid rise that this deal has suddenly come about.