Manchester City midfielder plotting early return to pre-season training

Out-of-favour Manchester City and England midfielder Kalvin Phillips is plotting an early return to pre-season training in an attempt to revive his top-level career.

The former Leeds United star endured a second successive challenging campaign with Pep Guardiola’s side last season, resulting in a desperate loan move to force a breakthrough back into Gareth Southgate’s England plans.

A six-month loan deal to David Moyes’ West Ham United could not have been further from Phillips aims however, struggling to take on consistent game time in the centre of the park, being on the receiving end of individual errors, and receiving a red card.

That spell at the London Stadium ended early too, with Kalvin Phillips sustaining a muscular injury that would see him return to Manchester City with three games remaining, and watching his side lift the Premier League crown from the stands against his loan club.

But there remains a clear ambition to return to his former glories and standards set during his time at Elland Road, with a message sent to Manchester City backroom and coaching staff about his summer intentions.

As per the information of The Sun’s Martin Blackburn, Kalvin Phillips is currently planning an early return to pre-season training at Manchester City in an attempt to get his top-level playing career back on track.

It is claimed that the 28-year-old has indicated to Manchester City that he wants to be back at the City Football Academy training base ‘a couple of weeks before’ manager Pep Guardiola and the other stars not on international duty this summer.

Elsewhere, there is an understanding that Jack Grealish also holds an intention to return to pre-season training early, having been snubbed by Gareth Southgate for the ongoing European Championships in Germany.

The former Aston Villa captain has been using Juventus’ training facilities whilst away on holiday this summer, and has been reassured by manager Pep Guardiola that he still has full faith in Grealish’s abilities.

The last campaign was largely hindered by a mixture of injury problems, and somewhat of a Treble hangover, as Grealish struggled to come to terms with the success achieved in a historic campaign for Manchester City.

With that being said however, a lengthy summer break and a chance to refocus could be the best thing to happen to the forward, who could play a big role in a number of positions for Pep Guardiola’s squad next season.