Everton 'target' suffers another career setback after Barcelona friendly amid Aston Villa links

Everton target Kalvin Phillips suffered another setback in his Manchester City career as he missed a penalty in their friendly defeat to Barcelona.

The 28-year-old has been linked with a move to Goodison Park for some time - albeit on a temporary basis - as he looks to return to the form that saw him begin the Euro 2020 campaign for England. With injuries restricting him across his career at City so far, he has failed to earn the trust of Pep Guardiola.

Last night’s 2-2 draw in Orlando against the Spanish side eventually saw Barcelona win 4-1 on penalties. Phillips missed alongside 18-year-old academy prospect Jacob Wright in a disappointing end to the game. The ex-Leeds United midfielder produced a tame effort that was easily saved by 20-year-old Ander Astralaga diving to his right. His penalty was a perfect example of the confidence in which Phillips is clearly lacking after what has been a torrid two years since signing from Leeds. Hailed as one of the best defensive midfielders and deep-lying passes in the league under Marcelo Biesla, he has started just five league games across two seasons. One potential solution was to head out on loan to revitalise his career at West Ham United but he struggled to get to grips with the pace of the game and was eventually dropped from the starting line-up as they entered the final part of the campaign.

Nevertheless, Everton have been linked with a move on loan for a few windows and with Amadou Onana signing for Aston Villa this summer, Phillips would be a good option to have to replace him, albeit temporarily. However, Villa could foil them again as they have reportedly submitted a loan offer for him. TalkSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor has claimed that he should turn down a move to Villa as he won’t play regularly compared to Everton, were there is less competition.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “There’s no way he’s going to go to a team that finished fourth last season, has Champions League, and is going to start. You look at teams he could go to, Crystal Palace are a bad example and Fulham are a bad example, but there are teams in the Premier League he could go to. “Maybe Everton? Amadou Onana’s gone, could he go to Everton and the way Sean Dyche plays could Sean Dyche just say to him ‘Kalvin, get me that ball back’? Then he just gives it to that other midfielder, Idrissa Geuye or whoever it is in there and they do the work.”