Kalvin Phillips could be allowed to leave Manchester City for free before the window transfer closes as he battles to revive his faltering career.
That is the view of ex-City defender Danny Mills, who has exclusively told TEAMtalk that he believes Pep Guardiola will be forced to cut his losses on the England star.
Phillips joined the Blues from hometown club Leeds United in July 2022 for £42million but has barely featured under Guardiola.
The 29-year-old midfielder has lost his place in the England squad and spent time on loan at West Ham and Ipswich in the past two seasons.
He is currently recovering from achilles surgery and remains contracted to City until the summer of 2028.
Yet former Leeds and England star Mills told TEAMtalk: “City will be thinking ‘can we loan him out? What sort of transfer fee could we get for him?’
“Probably not a lot at the moment, so it’ll come down to a business decision from the club,” he said.
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Phillips could go for free
Mills continued: “They could let him go for nothing, knowing full well that the club taking him would have paid a transfer fee but that will go into his wages instead.
“It becomes a business transaction for a club like Man City and what’s best for them in terms of freeing up a space in the squad and also some wages.
“They’ll have obviously written off the transfer – that’s not really their concern. They’ll be thinking ‘okay, we need to get some money back if we can, so what’s the best way of doing that?
“But so far, loans haven’t really worked out great for Kalvin. If it was me at Man City, I might be thinking ‘we’ll just let him go’ and if he can find a club then they can have him for free. Simple as that.”
Phillips was England’s Player of the Year when they reached the Euro 2020 final in 2021.
But the move to City has descended into a waking nightmare and it remains to be seen who will step in to rescue him.
Former Leeds defender Mills added: “He seems to have lot his way a bit at City – and it can happen. We’ve seen it many times before when players have done well and then gone to a huge club but it hasn’t quite worked out.
“But I think someone in the Premier League will take a gamble on Kalvin Phillips.
“I’d be surprised if they don’t, but the complication will come because of his big wages and length of contract he’s on.
“It’ll come down to whether City are prepared to do a deal and let him go for nothing so Kalvin’s new club can put all their money into his wages.”
Man City round-up: Tottenham talks expected at weekend
Tottenham have been heavily pushing for the signing of City winger Savinho of late.
While it has been suggested they will not be able to sign the forward, TEAMtalk is aware Spurs see the meeting between the sides at the weekend as a likely opportunity to discuss the potential move.
Meanwhile, the price of City target Rodrygo is said to have been dropped to £52million by Real Madrid.
But it has been suggested that the Citizens would only look to sign the Real man if Savinho left.
Man City transfers: Higher or lower