Earlier this year, Pep Guardiola became the most expensive manager in football history, taking in excess of £2bn after Manchester City spent big in two further transfer windows.
Of course, he has delivered results, considering he has won 18 major accolades since joining Etihad Airways nine years ago.
However, many players who come to Manchester with huge expectations and big transfer fees fail to live up to those expectations, and one player in particular comes to mind, but is there a risk of the same scenario happening to the current Sky Blue stars?
Kalvin Phillips’ Manchester City career
When Kalvin Phillips joined Manchester City from Leeds United for £45m in the summer of 2022, he was at the top of his game.
He made 234 appearances for his boyhood club Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa and was first-choice for England, starting all seven games as the Three Lions reached the Euro 2020 final.
However, Phillips has played just 32 games in his three years with the Citizens, including only six starts, and has accumulated a disastrous 921 minutes – the same amount of time it takes to drive from the Etihad to the Eiffel Tower.
After spectacular and memorable loan spells at West Ham and Ipswich, the forgotten man returned to Manchester this summer.
He made his first appearance for the Citizens in 690 days when he came off the bench for a six-minute cameo against Huddersfield in the EFL Cup, but he did not feature in any other games as a substitute, so it is understandable that he is not back in Guardiola’s plans.
So, is it possible for players in the same position to fall into the same trap, both literally and figuratively?
Manchester City’s next forgotten midfielder
As you can see in the table below, Manchester City have enjoyed mixed success since Guardiola took over, signing 17 players for more than £45 million.
Man City contracts worth over £45m (2016-present) | ||
|---|---|---|
player | commission | man city app |
Tijani Reinders | £46.5m | 13 |
Nico Gonzalez | £50m | 26 |
Omar Mahmush | £59m | 28 |
J-Dock | £55.5m | 93 |
Matheus Nunez | £53m | 79 |
Josko Guardiol | £77.5m | 103 |
Erling Braut Holland | £51m | 155 |
Kalb Phillips | £45 million | 32 |
Jack Grealish | 100 million pounds | 157 |
Ruben Diaz | £62.1m | 231 |
Rodri | £62.8m | 272 |
Joan Cancelo | £60 million | 154 |
Riyama | £60m | 236 |
Kyle Walker | £45 million | 319 |
benjamin mendy | £49.3m | 75 |
Aymeric Laporte | £57 million | 180 |
john stones | £47.5m | 283 |
All information via Transfermarkt | ||
Aside from new players, Phillips has played the fewest games of any of his big-money signings, but the future could be worrying for one of the players on the list.
Manchester City signed Nico González from Porto for £50m on deadline day as part of a January spending spree that was bigger than the other 19 Premier League clubs combined.
The 23-year-old La Masia Barcelona graduate arrived with an impressive pedigree and was seen as a shrewd addition by Guardiola, who labeled him a “mini-Rodri”. He appeared to be a prudent MP considering the Ballon d’Or winner was absent at the time.
But it didn’t really work out for Nico. Last season, despite Rodri’s absence, he only started nine games in the Premier League, making only 16 starts in all competitions and coming off the bench a further 10 times, but in nine games he was not featured at all.
Nico was the player introduced into midfield when Rodri limped off against Brentford on Sunday, but Guardiola has preferred Tijani Lijnders since joining in June, while the Spaniard’s opportunities could be further limited if Mateo Kovacic returns from surgery.
His only league goal so far came against Bournemouth in May, capping off a free transfer.
But just recently, Nico made headlines for kicking Eric Dier in the face against Stade Louis II, giving Monaco a penalty that cost them a point in stoppage time.
In February’s Match of the Day, former Man City defender Micah Richards praised Nico’s “intelligence”, adding: “It’s priceless to have a player with that kind of football IQ in your team.”
The 23-year-old is clearly a quality midfield player, but the same would have been said of Phillips before Guardiola lost his trust and he was shuffled out, and there were fears the same would happen to the Spaniard.
With Rodri potentially unavailable, it will be interesting to see if Nico is slotted into the base of midfield for Man City’s next game after the international break, at home to Everton.
