City's Phillips to 'make a decision' on future
Published
Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips says he's going to have to make a tough choice sooner than later.
Speaking after England's 3-1 win over Italy in Euro qualifying, the 31-year-old midfielder acknowledged that he would like to play more.
"I know that I need to be playing games and competing every weekend," Phillips said. "I'm going to have to make a decision on [my future] over the next months."
Arriving at the defending Premier League champions from Leeds ahead of last season, Phillips saw a dramatic reduction in his usage after becoming an indispensable part of the Whites. In Leeds' first season back in the Premier League in 2020-2021, Phillips made 29 appearances and played 2,428 minutes. Last season, he played a total of 300 minutes over 12 league appearances. Thus far this season, he's made three appearances and played 70 minutes.
For now, Phillips has maintained his place in Gareth Southgate's England team, handed a start in Tuesday's match that saw the Three Lions book a place at Euro 2024, but that could change.
"He just says that for me to keep my spot I have to be playing games," Phillips said of the England boss. "That's what I want to do. I have agreed with Gareth on that."
Phillips says that he hopes to stay on at the Etihad, but concedes that might not be possible.
"I want to play football and want to play as much as possible," Phillips said. "Over the last year and a half, I haven't been able to do that due to injuries and [other contributing factors]. It's something I am going to have to think about. Hopefully my chance does come, but if it doesn't then I will have to make other decisions, as well."
City returns to Premier League action following the international break on Saturday when they host Brighton.