Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has signed on loan with Sheffield United for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. The 30-year-old former England international, who has struggled to find form at Etihad Stadium under manager Pep Guardiola, will join the Championship club in a bid to reignite his career.
Phillips' trajectory has stalled since joining City from Leeds United on a six-year contract worth £45m in 2022. Despite being named England's Player of the Year in 2021 after an impressive debut season, he has struggled to establish himself as a regular starter at Manchester City.
The former England international has made just seven appearances for City this season, including a cameo appearance in the Carabao Cup final against Huddersfield Town in September. He has been training with his City teammates but was deemed surplus to requirements by the club.
Phillips' loan move to Sheffield United marks his third spell away from Manchester City, following stints at West Ham and Ipswich Town. The Blades are 17th in the Championship table and will provide Phillips with an opportunity to get game time and potentially turn around his career.
Guardiola has publicly acknowledged that Phillips was "overweight" when he returned from the World Cup in December 2022, but apologized for the comments earlier this year. The move has raised questions about whether Guardiola's criticism contributed to Phillips' struggles at Manchester City.
Phillips will be hoping that a spell away from the Etihad can help him regain his form and get back on track with his career. However, it remains to be seen how long he will stay with Sheffield United, given the loan deal is only for the remainder of the season.
Phillips' trajectory has stalled since joining City from Leeds United on a six-year contract worth £45m in 2022. Despite being named England's Player of the Year in 2021 after an impressive debut season, he has struggled to establish himself as a regular starter at Manchester City.
The former England international has made just seven appearances for City this season, including a cameo appearance in the Carabao Cup final against Huddersfield Town in September. He has been training with his City teammates but was deemed surplus to requirements by the club.
Phillips' loan move to Sheffield United marks his third spell away from Manchester City, following stints at West Ham and Ipswich Town. The Blades are 17th in the Championship table and will provide Phillips with an opportunity to get game time and potentially turn around his career.
Guardiola has publicly acknowledged that Phillips was "overweight" when he returned from the World Cup in December 2022, but apologized for the comments earlier this year. The move has raised questions about whether Guardiola's criticism contributed to Phillips' struggles at Manchester City.
Phillips will be hoping that a spell away from the Etihad can help him regain his form and get back on track with his career. However, it remains to be seen how long he will stay with Sheffield United, given the loan deal is only for the remainder of the season.
Phillips needs a break lol, City doesn't need him right now. He's still a good player but maybe just needs to refocus and get his fitness back up. 17th in the Championship might be tough but if he can get some game time, he'll bounce back! 
man city really dropped the ball on kalvin phillips. 30 yrs old already struggling to get game time and now theyre sending him out on loan again? 
what did they expect? hes been open about his struggles with weight and fitness but thats not an excuse for how he's being handled atm 
. dont even get me started on pep guardiola, man... 
all that "he was overweight" crap... like, yeah ok mate, we get it. now hes gone to shudow of his former self 
. its gonna be interesting to see how this loan spell pans out for kalvin phillips tho 
i think its gonna be a tough ask for him to turn his career around but maybe this loan move will do him some good u know? maybe he just needs a fresh start and some game time to get back into the swing of things 
Fingers crossed for Kalvin, hope this loan move works out for him! 
anyway back to kalvin phillips... i feel bad for the guy he's such an accomplished player but it seems like city just lost faith in him 
. Pep Guardiola's comments about him being overweight didn't exactly help either 
️. But, I'm not sure how long he'll stick with the Blades... 6-8 months is usually a decent loan spell for someone in his position, so fingers crossed it's enough of a boost for him! 
. I think Pep Guardiola was harsh with him about his weight, but you can't blame him for trying to get him back in shape