Manchester City FLOP Kalvin Phillips has officially left Manchester City this Transfer morning to join premier League Club
One could argue that Manchester City is entering the January transfer market too late. The Blues have had a difficult first half of the season, but 2024 sees them regaining form and, more importantly, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland returning to training.
So far, Pep Guardiola has had to find answers to injury problems within his limited group. De Bruyne hasn’t played since the first few minutes of the season, while Haaland hasn’t played in nearly a month. Jeremy Doku is in the same boat, while John Stones was injured for the first two months of the season and is currently out again.
In the circumstances, perhaps City aren’t receiving enough credit for being in a fairly similar position in terms of points tally to last season. De Bruyne and Haaland will appear tremendously powerful when they return this month.
This is not to say that January will be without incident. Guardiola’s need for reinforcements for those important players has decreased, but one departure is still possible. Kalvin Phillips must now accept that his face will never fit at the Etihad.
He has only started two games this season, both of which were insignificant, and was passed over for three others when Rodri was unavailable. For a long time, the writing has been on the wall, and a change will benefit all parties. Juventus are keen to get Phillips on loan, but Newcastle are also keeping an eye on the issue.
Although a like-for-like replacement for the England international is improbable, City are expected to sign Argentina Under-17 World Cup standout Claudio Echeverri for £21.7 million from River Plate.
Echeverri will stay at River Plate on loan for another year before joining City, with the two clubs developing a good partnership following the transaction that sent Julian Alvarez to the Etihad in January 2022. Before making the move, Alvarez spent time on loan at River.
Echeverri has made six appearances for River Plate in 2023, but he really came into his own at the Under-17 World Cup, netting a hat-trick in Argentina’s quarter-final triumph over Brazil in Indonesia. He has also attracted interest from Barcelona, but he is poised to complete his move to City now that the transfer market is open, even if it will be at least a year before he joins Guardiola’s side.
Aside from that, January is anticipated to be relatively uneventful. Guardiola has always emphasised his desire to work with a small team, and with players set to return, he is unlikely to feel the need to go out and sign new players.
In fact, De Bruyne’s comeback may seem like a new signing. He could be just what City requires in January.
