Aston Villa have once again been linked to signing Manchester City outcast Kalvin Phillips and Neil Moxley has made a claim about his signing.
Over the past year, or so, Aston Villa have been one of many teams that have been rumoured to be interested in Kalvin Phillips.
With reports suggesting that Unai Emery is set to let certain players leave in the January window, reinforcements will be needed.
One player that has been linked with a move away is Leander Dendoncker and as a result, Phillips may represent a replacement.
In saying that, Phillips did cost Manchester City £42m in the summer of 2022 and as a result would need to feature regularly.
For the Cityzens, the Englishman has made just 29 appearances despite being with the club for well over a year. With that being said the midfielder has still made it into the England squad on a consistent basis.
With Rodri in front of him under Pep Guardiola it is no surprise that he isn’t playing so much. But given the quality he showed at Leeds United, he is a good-quality Premier League player.
What has Neil Moxley said about Kalvin Phillips?
Speaking with Give Me Sport, Neil Moxley has suggested Villa would be willing to change their system to accommodate Phillips.
Discussing how the Villans play now, he said: “The only slight sort of drawback to that would be that Emery would probably be playing with a defensive two in front of his back four, and he does sort of do that with Luiz and Boubacar Kamara at the moment, but Luiz is allowed to move a little bit more forward.”
With Emery’s 4-4-2 system that he has used during his whole tenure at Villa Park, Phillips isn’t a clear fit. Especially without any injury concerns. The midfield chooses itself on that basis and there is no debate on that fact.
Continuing on to discuss Phillips, Moxley added: “Phillips is, as we know, a defensive midfielder. He gets and gives the ball from side to side and he doesn’t really venture forward too much. His defensive capabilities are what’s got him the move to Manchester City.”
With Kamara being as good as he is and Luiz having the season of his life, is an expensive addition needed there?
Moxley answered this point: “Do I see it as being a natural fit? If Phillips was to go to Aston Villa, it may need a tweak in the tactics which are being deployed.”
Given how good the football has been under Emery, it seems silly to change that to accommodate a defensive midfielder. With that being said, having someone like Phillips come into tough games, especially away, could be useful.
