Since arriving at Manchester City in June 2022 for £45 million from Leeds United, Kalvin Phillips has had difficulty.

Since moving to the Etihad Stadium, the England international has only started two Premier League games for the Citizens as he struggles to replace Rodri in the starting lineup.

Now, thanks to The Athletic, we have some information on what Pep Guardiola and his staff at Manchester City believe Kalvin Phillips is having trouble with in particular.

According to reports, the Spaniard believes his No. 4 is having trouble passing the ball quickly in tight spaces, especially when receiving passes from the goalie, which is a crucial quality for a holding midfielder to have for Manchester City.The Athletic asserts that Phillips’ shortcoming was identified by Guardiola and his coaching staff as early as preseason in the summer of 2022.The 27-year-old’s continued omission from Manchester City suggests that he hasn’t made much progress in this area.Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes, whom Guardiola acquired from Chelsea and Wolves, respectively, during the summer transfer window, appear to have already passed Phillips in the standings.The latter has already made half as many Premier League debuts for Manchester City than Phillips has overall.In terms of Kovacic, the Croatian has already outperformed the £45 million player’s record of two starts in a matter of weeks, as Guardiola has so far selected him for the starting XI three times in the Premier League.That does absolutely nothing to enhance Phillips’ reputation.Therefore, the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ has a real opportunity to prove that he belongs at Manchester City now that Rodri has received a three-game suspension for his odd red card.If Phillips doesn’t deliver, his January prospects may be over.