Kalvin Philips made a £45m move to Manchester City in 2022, since then he has not had much game time, especially this season. In the summer he stated that he was happy at Man City but it is now believed that he’s open to moving in January. Tottenham is one of the clubs linked to the midfielder and he could be a great addition to the club.
Phillips is more of a defensive-minded midfielder which counteracts the other midfielders Tottenham have, for example Yves Bissouma and James Maddison. Sometimes more of a defensive midfielder is needed particularly in the second half of a game to hold onto a lead, giving the defence an extra boost.
It could be a case of opposites attract with the Bissouma and Phillips combination. Bissouma is much more prone to driving up the field, whereas Phillips would drop back more holding up the midfield and creating more of a barrier for the opposition’s attackers. He reacts quickly and specialises in picking out long passes as well as switching play which could be very promising.
If Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou was to play one or the other, Bissouma would be the starter due to him being in excellent form. Furthermore, with Rodrigo Bentancur soon coming back from injury after a year out, he will most likely be in the starting XI too, perhaps not allowing Phillips as much game time as he'd desire.
Phillips would like to move to a different club to get more game time however it’s not 100% guaranteed at Spurs due to them already having multiple strong midfielders.
As already mentioned, however, the majority of Tottenham’s current midfielders are attacking, with Phillips being more defensive it could give him the edge over others. He would also be great to come off the bench if help is needed in the back line to prevent the opposition taking over. The Englishman only has 1 goal and 3 assists in 64 Premier League appearances, but he is a great player which shows why he’s more promising in a defensive role.
Another positive for Phillips is that in the new year, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr (key starters) will be away at the African cup of nations meaning they won’t be available. This means Tottenham will be 2 midfielders short and so he could start his time at the club getting the minutes he’s wanted. Furthermore, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is looking for a move in January and therefore a replacement would be needed; Phillips would be perfect as his replacement.
Pep Guardiola has said, “Until the wintertime Kalvin is at City, when the transfer window is open, nobody knows”.
This shows that he is open to the option of selling him but wants the midfielder to focus on Manchester City at least until the winter. Similarly, Phillips has said that he’s going to fight as much as possible over the next 2 months to stay at City but his plan for 2024 is to be a regular starter for a club.
It is not just Tottenham who are interested in the midfielder; Newcastle, Bayern Munich and West ham are keen to get involved in this saga too.
With the transfer window still being three months away, its impossible to predict what will happen but he has the potential to fit in well at Spurs.
Really enjoyable article, thank you!