Everton must be creative this summer with tight financial flexibility to sign additional players to the team. According to the Athletic, Everton is exploring acquiring Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
The 28-year-old englishman moved to Manchester City after several succesful years of running Leeds midfield as a defensive anchor. Since the move however, Phillips has made just 31 appearances across two season. This season, he was sent on loan to West Ham in January and appeared in 10 games.
With rumors swirling daily regarding the possible departure of Amadou Onana, Phillips can help ease that loss and not have the burden of playing every match in that role. Everton still have Idrissa Gueye, who had a great season and will continue to be that defensive player in front of the back line.
The question here is the status of Phillip's body and mind given how little he's played in recent years. A quality player is still there but manager Sean Dyche will have to bring it out of him if Phillips comes to Merseyside. In my mind, Everton must act quickly if they are set on bringing Phillips in so that he can have a full summer with the staff and team.
Another issue at hand is the heavy wages of Phillips, who earns 150,000 pounds per week, which is surely too high for Everton even to cover half next season. It is assumed Everton will not try to sign him on a permanent deal either, so they must tread lightly in this situation and not overpay.
In Phillip's limited loan spell at West Ham, he showed a bit of what he did for Leeds and England. An 83rd percentile and 75th percentile in passes attempted and pass completion highlight his ability to be a key player in the buildup. 2.55 tackles per 90 put him in the 85th percentile in defensive actions.
These numbers are from limited playing time (600-700 minutes), but give a glimpse of what he can provide if he is put in the right positions. In Everton's current setup, Phillips would be one of the two central, holding midfielders.
If Everton can secure a low cost loan with Phillips, it can be worth the risk that comes from his lack of minutes. If anyone can get him fully fit and back in form, it is Sean Dyche anyway.