Phillips played just 380 minutes of Premier League football for Manchester City before joining West Ham on loan.
English midfielder Kalvin Phillips says his time at Manchester City was “stressful” and his loan move to West Ham has made him feel “more alive.”
The 28-year-old made just six starts for Pep Guardiola’s side following a £42million move from Leeds in 2022.
His City spell included criticism from the manager over his weight – which Phillips said destroyed his confidence.
“Now that I’m here at West Ham and playing, I feel a lot more alive,” he said after his move in January.
“I still loved the game, it just changed my mindset a little bit,” Phillips said.
“The game wasn’t disappointing me, but the fact that I had nothing to look forward to drove me away.”
«Now that I am here at West Ham and playing, I feel much more alive. “It’s not about starting from scratch, but about starting again.”
Guardiola had said that Kalvin Phillips had become overweight again after being in the 2022 World Cup with England.
“After the World Cup was probably the hardest thing, when Pep came out and said he was overweight,” Phillips said.
“He was right to do it, but there are different ways to do it.”
“I didn’t disagree with him, but obviously it took a big hit to my confidence and how I felt at City. And my family wasn’t happy about it either. Especially my mother.
“It was just a misunderstanding and I think I was very frustrated because I came back 1.5kg over my goal weight.”
Kalvin Phillips won the treble with City last season and the Club World Cup in December, but he was a fringe player who saw midfielders such as Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes arrive in the summer to offer even more competition for places.
It means Phillips played just 380 Premier League minutes for the Blues in the Premier League before leaving on loan last month.
“It wasn’t a nightmare at City, it was just stressful,” said Phillips, who now hopes regular football can cement his place in the England squad for this summer’s European Championship.
He said he spoke to England manager Gareth Southgate about his move before opting for West Ham, with Juventus and Newcastle also options for him.
His England teammate, Arsenal’s former West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, also sold him the club before Hammers manager David Moyes convinced him it was the right decision.
“I felt that if I wasn’t going to play for City, I want to go to a club where they want me,” Phillips added.
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2024-02-11 09:26:47
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