Kalvin Phillips has emerged as a surprise target for Bayern Munich, which could further open the door to Declan Rice moving to Manchester City.
Phillips only joined City last summer but struggled for game time at the Etihad Stadium as he failed to break into Pep Guardiola's plans. Further obstacles look set to be put up in Phillips' pathway to a place in the City line-up.
Guardiola is eyeing a move for Rice, who would likely jump ahead of Phillips in the pecking order having captained West Ham to winning the Europa Conference League in the season just gone.
With that move on the horizon, City may be willing to allow Phillips to leave after just one season at the Etihad. Despite that lack of playing time, he would not be short of suitors this summer.
According to BILD, one team sizing up a move for the England international is Bundesliga champions Bayern. Boss Thomas Tuchel would prefer to bring in Rice, but such a move looks unrealistic.
As a result, Bayern are turning towards alternatives, with Phillips a leading candidate. There is a feeling that he could be bought from City this summer, despite only just ending his debut season.
It is expected that the window could be open for Bayern to follow through on that interest, with 'opportunities' available to convince Phillips to make the move to Munich. It may be difficult to make that case though, with Phillips insisting he wants to stay at City.
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"My intention is to stay there. We have just won the treble, so there is no reason for me to leave, other than if I am not playing I will obviously have to think about it," the midfielder said this week.
"I cannot give it 12 months and say, 'I am not playing so I am going to leave'. I came to Manchester City to win trophies and we won the trophies, but I didn't play as much as I wanted to do.
"I will continue to work hard next season and hopefully do well when I go back to City. As you have seen with many players at City, it can take quite a while to cement yourself into the team. Hopefully, I will enjoy my off-season and then work hard when I get back."
Guardiola has though admitted that Phillips needs to put more work in to adapt to the way his City team play. The City boss will hold talks with the former Leeds star about his future ahead of next season.
"He's not been on the pitch much. In some things, he needs to adapt a little bit more but what happens next season, I'm not concerned for one second now. We will see at the end of the season. We'll sit with the players," Guardiola said.
"Maybe they want more minutes or maybe they are not happy with the situation. But right now I'm not going to discuss anything. I'm not complaining about Kalvin because when you don't play much it's difficult to take the rhythm."
