It feels like an annual event now, but Everton are once again being linked with Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips. This certainly isn't a new rumor, but one that Everton fans are likely done with hearing about.
Phillips was a good player for his local club of Leeds United, when he began his professional career in the Championship when he was just 18, and was a key part of the club's rise back into the Premier League with their title in 2019/20.
After a good debut campaign in the top-flight, he somehow turned a poor second season into a move to Manchester, with the Sky Blues paying a massive fee to pry him from Leeds, even though they managed to avoid relegation with a 17th place finish.
His time at City has been marred by a disappearing act caused by some significant injuries, including 18 missed games with a shoulder problem in 2022, and ankle/Achilles issues that kept him out for 20 matches in 2024/25. Phillips' two loan spells -- at West Ham in 2023/24 under David Moyes and with Ipswich Town last year -- saw him play just 32 total matches and 1783 minutes.
On the surface, the move makes sense, since Everton need another defensive-minded midfielder so that some of the pressure is taken off of Idrissa Gana Gueye. In that regard, Phillips is a decent fit for the club.
But the time where he'd be needed most, December while Gana is away at AFCON, will be done and dusted by the time the January window rolls around, and there's little reason to think that Phillips would start over Gana if both are fit.
He's also on a pretty massive wage, and City would likely want a decent fee for him, even if he's absolutely tanked his value since arriving in Manchester. A loan is out of the question because of Jack Grealish, and paying for a player who'll have just turned 30 in early December with that injury record would be unwise.
The idea is the right one. Everton cannot depend on Gana forever, and need to seek his replacement, either in January or next summer. But Kalvin Phillips is absolutely not the right man for this particular job.