Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has emerged as a transfer target for Everton following a season to forget – and it is worth noting some past comments from Sean Dyche about the player.
Phillips endured a nightmare campaign in 2023/24.
The former Leeds United man couldn’t buy an opportunity in the first half of the season under Pep Guardiola, having chosen to stay at the club and fight for his place.
He then left in January and joined West Ham United on loan for the rest of the season.
His spell with the Hammers couldn’t have gone much worse, and City now find themselves in a tricky position with Phillips, with West Ham unwilling to trigger the option to buy clause that was negotiated.
But Everton are thought to be keen on the player, despite his struggles -and this is perhaps unsurprising given what Sean Dyche said about him back in 2019…
Sean Dyche previously hailed Kalvin Phillips when he tried to sign him for Burnley in 2019
The intention for City this summer is to offload Phillips, but it is currently unclear on what kind of basis this will be.
His spell at West Ham has prompted his market value to plummet, and City would likely not get anywhere near the £45 million they paid to sign him from Leeds United.
Apparently, Everton are currently exploring a loan move for Phillips, with the Toffees seeking to build their squad ahead of the 2024/25 campaign. And it is little wonder they have been linked.
Dyche is a fan of Phillips and has been for a number of years.
He tried to sign him when he was the manager of Burnley, and dropped a glowing verdict on him in 2019. Sky Sports quote him as saying: “I thought he was a very good player then and he’s a very good player now. He’s developed since then and continues to do so, so fair play to him.
“Your scouts are out there collecting information, they are scurrying around, and sometimes one catches your eye. He was one for me, I don’t think my staff liked him as much, but I was strong on him.
“I was quite strong on that one and I thought he would have been a good acquisition for us, but we couldn’t do it. The chairman at the time wouldn’t put the money in that it would have taken. Unfortunately, he was out of our price range.
“That’s the way it goes and he’s proven himself. He’s a player who I thought could continue to improve and he has. I liked him then and I like him now, I think he’s a very good player who has shown that. It doesn’t need me to say that and he’s shown that.”
Everton and Dyche could be good for Phillips
It will be fascinating to see what happens with Phillips this summer – but a move to Goodison Park could be good for him.
Things went so badly for him at West Ham that Phillips would be lucky to get a chance with another Premier League club, but seemingly he is a player Dyche has long admired.
Ultimately, Phillips is a good player who is just severely lacking confidence at the moment. That is a natural by-product of hardly playing, and then having a manager continually selecting other players ahead of you.
Ideally, City would cut their losses on Phillips. But understandably clubs are probably going to be a bit wary of making permanent bids after his spell at West Ham.
We shall see what happens, but Dyche might just be the man to get Phillips back on track.