PEP GUARDIOLA APOLOGISES TO KALVIN PHILLIPS FOR MANCHESTER CITY SNUB - 'HE DOESN'T DESERVE WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HIM'

Ahead of Manchester City's Premier League match against Luton Town, Pep Guardiola responded to speculation linking midfielder Kalvin Phillips with a January move away from the Etihad. Phillips has struggled for game time since arriving in the summer of 2022 from Leeds United and Guardiola admitted it is a situation the 28-year-old "doesn't deserve" to be in.

 Pep Guardiola has said Kalvin Phillips “doesn’t deserve” his lack of game time at Manchester City this season but admitted it has been a “struggle to see him” fitting into his plans.

Midfielder Phillips arrived from Leeds in the summer of 2022 and has found regular minutes under Guardiola hard to come by and is yet to start a game for the treble winners this season.

The England international was an unused substitute as City extended their Premier League winless streak to four games with a 1-0 defeat away to Aston Villa on Wednesday night.

Ahead of City’s visit to Luton, the Spaniard was asked about reports linking Phillips with a January exit from the Etihad.

“I don't know what's going to happen,” Guardiola said. “I feel so sorry for my decision for him. I've said that many times.

“He doesn't deserve what has happened to him and I'm so sorry.

“The only thing I can say about him is I am asking for good personalities and characters and he is a perfect example. And after that I have to give him something and I didn't do that.

“It's just because I visualise some things and visualise the team and things - and I struggle to see him.

“I'm not very pleased [with myself] and I am so sorry for him. I will not say that [to him] because it is a business and I have to be a professional.

“But if one guy behaves [poorly], I don't care. But the way he behaves with the team-mates and everyone, I care. So that's why hopefully it can turn around.

“And I've said many times, if it comes to January and he stays, I'm more than pleased because he trains really good and he's a lovely guy and character.”

Guardiola also addressed his side’s poor run of results. The reigning champions have picked up just three points from their previous four games to slip to fourth in the table, six points behind league leaders Arsenal.

City have been lauded as the world’s best club side since their treble-winning exploits but Guardiola believes that is not the current reality.

“In that moment [against Villa], we are not the best team in the world because we are not getting results,” he added. “We were.

“In Europe, the world will see in two or three weeks if we are able to do it but at the end that is not important, what is important is to play our level we had two weeks ago.

“Against Aston Villa they were better than us and they deserved the victory for the way they played.

“We’re not far away, next two games are so important before we go to Saudi Arabia to play the (Club World Cup) finals.”

He continued: “When you are winning, you are the best team in the world and when you are not winning, it is a crisis.

“It’s always exaggerated from one side to the other. The reality is that we’re not used to not winning, four games without winning but we played against top teams, because Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa are exceptional teams.

“They were tight games, some of them we played really well, other ones we did not, it is what it is.

“It’s not the first time we have been in this position.”