Pep Guardiola has insisted Kalvin Phillips is ready to start for Manchester City but remained coy on whether he would make his full debut against Southampton.
It's been a difficult start to life at City for Phillips following his £45million transfer from Leeds United in the summer. A series of injuries including a shoulder problem that required surgery has meant he is yet to even clock 90 minutes on the pitch for his new club.
Wednesday's trip to Southampton in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals provides an opportunity for the England international to get some much-needed minutes under his belt and finally make his first start. Guardiola believes he is ready to do so.
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"He's always ready," the Blues boss said. "Of course, he needed time for some aspects but he’s ready and we are delighted about that.
"We have to see [if he will start] but I think he's an intelligent player, normally holding midfielders so clever. He was educated at Leeds with Marcelo [Bielsa] and the commitment of every training session and every game. But there are patterns and movements and you need game time. He arrived and had injuries which meant he couldn’t be there but step by step he will get there."
Guardiola could become the manager with the most League Cup triumphs to his name if he wins it for a fifth time this season but he insists it's not a record he's concerned with.
"Absolutely not," he replied when asked if attaining the record meant anything to him. "We want to win it but it will not change my life to have more than Sir Alex [Ferguson]. It's the same with Brian [Clough] and Sir Alex. We try to do our best and last season we were out in the early stages to West Ham but we were magnificent the way we played.
"After winning a lot of titles, still we are here in this competition, that’s the biggest detail that this club is doing it in a humble way – why choose competitions, whatever happens in the future, nothing will change what we’ve done.
"It’s not just the titles, it’s how many things have been fantastic about the way we work, the way we play, the many games, the high quality after many years. We want to win the Champions League, fight for the Premier League with Arsenal but this is important."
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