Sheffield United eyeing Kalvin Phillips loan as City seek end to £45m transfer saga

Kalvin Phillips is set for yet another temporary exit from Manchester City this summer, with Sheffield United among the clubs interested in the midfielder who has made just 16 Premier League appearances for the club since his £45 million move from Leeds United in 2022.

Phillips was signed to provide competition and cover for Rodri, but a combination of injuries and poor form has made his time at the Etihad one of the most disappointing transfers of the Premier League era. In a telling measure of how little he has featured, Phillips has actually played more top-flight games on loan — 19 for Ipswich in 2024/25 and eight for West Ham in 2023/24 — than he has for City themselves.

Sheffield United, where Phillips spent the second half of last season, are reported to be interested in bringing him back to Bramall Lane. That spell, however, was also disrupted by injury and failed to provide the career reset he had been seeking when he joined the club in February.

“I’m a person who works hard and never gives up on what I believe I can do,” Phillips told Sky Sports in February. “I just need to play football to get back to my former self. Once I get up and firing, I’ll feel a lot better and a lot more confident. Any player in my situation would say not playing has been the major reason for a dip.”

With two years still remaining on his City contract, a permanent sale this summer appears unlikely. The more realistic outcome is another loan, which both club and player would hope could eventually be converted into a permanent deal — finally drawing a line under an association that has not worked for either side.

The stakes for Phillips are rising with each failed temporary move. A player who was a key figure in England’s Euro 2020 triumph and a regular starter under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds now needs a sustained run of form and fitness to rebuild a career that has stalled almost entirely since his move to Manchester.