Gary Neville dropped a verdict about Kalvin Phillips today as Manchester City beat West Ham United to win the Premier League title.
City have won a fourth straight title, with Phil Foden once again playing a starring role for Pep Guardiola‘s side.
Foden struck twice in the first-half, before Mohammed Kudus pulled one back for West Ham. Rodri made sure of the points in the second-half, striking from the edge of the box.
In the end, it was a relatively comfortable afternoon for the hosts, who have made history with their latest title win – no team has ever won four Premier League titles in a row.
One man who couldn’t play in today’s game was Kalvin Phillips, as rules don’t permit players on loan to face their parent clubs.
Phillips was watching on in the stands, which prompted Gary Neville to make a claim about the midfielder…
Gary Neville says Kalvin Phillips must have wondered why it didn’t work out for him at Manchester City
City loaned Phillips to West Ham in January in the hope that he would be able to get back on track.
He had hardly played for City since completing his £45 million move from Leeds United in the summer of 2022, and it was always very likely he would leave on loan mid-season.
City officials hoped Phillips would be able to improve. But his stint could not have gone much worse.
He made errors leading to goals, got sent off against Nottingham Forest and finished the campaign injured, meaning his market value will have certainly decreased going into the summer.
As the camera panned on Phillips in the stands, Neville on commentary said for Sky Sports: “He must be watching Kalvin Phillips thinking where did it go wrong here.
“99 percent of the signings that have been made here in the last five or 10 years have worked and that one just hasn’t.”
City will surely try to sell Phillips
It is difficult to imagine City not trying to sell Phillips this summer.
Pep didn’t want him, and his spell at West Ham could not have gone worse. The issue may well be that clubs will not be willing to stump up much money – both in terms of a transfer fee and wages.
Ultimately, it hasn’t worked out for him and officials are going to have to expect to take a financial hit on him.
The player has been linked with a move back to Leeds United. So City may well hope they gain promotion back to the Premier League via the play-offs.