Kalvin Phillips claimed his period at the Sky Blues was “stressful” – and his loan move to the Hammers has made him feel “better.”
🔵 Kalvin Phillips: “I felt like if I wasn’t going to play at Man City, I want to go to a club where I’m wanted”.
“Not that Man City didn’t want me but I just wanted to go somewhere where the manager was really keen and where he really wanted me”, told @RyanTaylorSport. pic.twitter.com/QnPUPbkPCl
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 11, 2024
The England midfielder made only 6 starts for Manchester City after his 42 million dollar transfer from Leeds United 2 years ago.
His time at Guardiola’s side included criticism from the head coach over his weight, which Kalvin admitted knocked down his confidence.
“Now I’m here with the Hammers, and on the pitch, I feel a lot more alive,” Phillips claimed after his move south during the winter transfer window.
“I still loved to play football; it just changed my way of thinking about the game,” the midfielder shared in an interview.
“The football wasn’t letting me down, but the fact I had nothing to expect to kind of pushed me away.”
Philips admitted that his toughest period was after the World Cup in Qatar when the manager told him he was overweight, and that was a big hit to his confidence.