Kalvin Phillips left Manchester City for West Ham United during the January transfer window and the midfielder has revealed one reason why Pep Guardiola was “frustrated” with him at the reigning Premier League champions.
The English star made the move to the Manchester-based club from Leeds United during the summer transfer window of 2022, but his time at the Etihad Stadium turned out to be a disaster.
Phillips received very limited playing time and as a result, he had to depart in January in order to increase his chances of being selected for the European Championship with the England national team this summer.
The West Ham star has now disclosed one specific reason why Guardiola was “frustrated” with him, and it is related to the 2022 World Cup, a tournament from which the midfielder returned late, according to the Manchester City manager.
“Pep was disappointed that I did not return to training early after the World Cup, without a doubt – but there was a miscommunication between the staff at City and myself,” Phillips told the Mirror via Fabrizio Romano.
“I was instructed to come back on a certain date, but I had always intended to return earlier than that because I had not played much for England during the tournament.
“I had just recovered from a shoulder injury, so Pep wanted me to come in the day after the tournament ended so that I could participate in the friendly matches.
“Unfortunately, I did not receive that information because if he had asked me to be there… I would have been there.”
According to the Source caughtoffside.com