Everton ‘interested’ in signing Man City star in January - other PL clubs to battle for signing

Everton are reportedly interested in signing Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips who has struggled for gametime since joining the club.

Phillips, 27, was a star at Leeds United previously, playing a key role in their promotion from the Championship under Marcelo Bielsa and their early success in the Premier League.

However, since making the £42m move in 2022 to the Etihad Stadium, he’s played just 26 times and has failed to make any sort of impact.

Now, according iNews, he is looking to relaunch his career away from Manchester, with Everton and Newcastle listed as potential destinations. And it’s said Goodison Park could potentially be a viable move if the takeover from 777 Partners can be completed in a timely fashion.

They had tried to enquire about a loan deal in the summer, but their financial retraints ruled them out at that time.

The report also claims City were open to letting him leave in the summer but it was the midfielder himself who decided to stay at the club as he felt leaving would be admitting defeat too early after his transfer from Leeds United.

It seems the most likely outcome from here, according to sources aware of the situation in the summer, is a loan move in January when there will be “plenty of interest”. Phillips had plenty of admirers in the summer as West Ham, Liverpool, Newcastle, Everton and Bayern Munich were all reportedly interested.

So far this season he’s played a total of 167 minutes, making just one start in the 1-0 defeat in the EFL Cup to Newcastle. Last season saw him suffer a nasty shoulder injury which saw him miss the start of the campaign, and he went onto start just four games across City’s treble-winning season.

Despite that, he has still been a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England squad, which has caused quite a stir given there are other midfielders in great form and playing regularly. It would be naive to rule out a comeback for Phillips, given his past showings across his career, but he is someone who desperately needs regular football - and Everton could be his salvation in January.