by Im_Spartacus » Wed Aug 30, 2023 10:38 am
Feel for him on the one hand as he's not had a run - I always felt Sterling and Mahrez struggled with that too and needed to play themselves into form but often didn't get the chance. Strangely Grealish seems to have been given a bit of a free pass in that regard, but it's clear that he did exactly what Pep asked in his first year and I assume Pep trusted him because of that.
But with a world class midfield around you, Philips has to force himself into contention as he'll never be given a few games to see what he can do.
I can't help feeling at the price we paid, that this was a bit of a strategic quota filling purchase who was never really intended to play much. He was never going to cost us money if it didn't work out, and even now if we loan him out for a year, chances are he will be worth 50mil in the present market