West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur have both been linked with Kalvin Phillips in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, 90Min reported that the Hammers and Spurs are just two of the clubs eyeing the England international.
As well as West Ham and Tottenham, the likes of Newcastle, Aston Villa and Bayern Munich are apparently in pursuit of Phillips.
Now, West Ham ace Michail Antonio has given his verdict on the Manchester City man amid interest from the Hammers, Tottenham and others.
Speaking on the Footballer’s Football Podcast, he said Phillips is a player of “unreal quality”, but acknowledged that his situation is “difficult”.
The reported West Ham and Tottenham target continues to struggle for game time at the Etihad. He has a mere 167 minutes of club football under his belt this term.
‘It’s a madness’
Antonio warned Phillips against constantly pushing himself fighting for that first-team spot to little avail and “your whole career just goes by” in the meantime.
“Honestly it’s difficult,” said Antonio. “We all know Kalvin is a quality player, the quality he has is unreal.
“But it’s been two years now and he’s not really getting much game time. Rodri is a world class player so it’s understandable.
“The team won a quadruple last year, they basically win every week, so it’s nearly impossible to break into a team like that.
“As a player you want to be at the best team to better yourself and push yourself but how long do you do that for?
“How long until you sit there and think I’m going to get myself in there, because it’s two years now and football goes like this.
“I still remember being 19 playing for Southampton and that was 14 years ago. It’s a madness.
“So you don’t want to just keep pushing yourself trying to fight for that position and place and your whole career just goes by.”
Our view
It’s a shame to see a player of such quality be wasted on the bench. Phillips has the quality to boss the midfield for any Premier League club, so he really ought to consider his future next year.
Tottenham and West Ham would both be good destinations for him. Both clubs are on the up and the Hammers are also in Europe at present.
The £45million man was absolutely right to test himself at Man City and mave the move.
After all, you don’t want to come to the end of your career and think “I wish I had made that big move to the strongest club in my league when I had the chance”.
That’s one regret Phillips won’t have. However, it’s yet to really work out for him.
As Antonio said, there’s only so much you can keep trying to break into the first team before it’s best to bail so as to not waste much more time on the bench.