11 months ago
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Roy Hodgson says Crystal Palace are very much interested in taking Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City this month, although admits that if he is to leave on a permanent deal then they would be out of the running.
The midfielder remains largely out of contention under Pep Guardiola at City, making just four Premier League appearances this season, all from the substitutes’ bench.
With the European Championships rolling around this summer, Phillips is keen to play more to try and hold onto his place in England’s squad.
A loan move has been mooted, with Manchester City seemingly open to letting him go, while there is no shortage of interest in the 28-year-old.
Newcastle, Everton, West Ham, Juventus and Crystal Palace have all been credited with wanting to sign the midfielder this month, although Hodgson says it would have to be a short-term deal.
‘He’s a good player,’ Hodgson told a press conference on Tuesday. ‘I would like to think that if Kalvin Phillips is available and is a possibility for the club – once again, there would be financial restrictions, who knows whether the club feels they can afford that – but if you’re talking about the level of player, I don’t think there would be many managers who would not say “yeah, we’d be really happy to have him come to the club.”
‘But as far as I’m concerned it’s a name that’s out there. All we know, like most other clubs, is there’s a possibility that Manchester City will either sell him or loan him.
‘If they are purely going to sell him, then I wouldn’t think we would be in the market.
‘If they are going to loan him, I would like to think that possibly we could put our hand up and push ourselves forward and what we could then, of course, offer is probably the chance of playing regular football in the Premier League in the build-up to what is going to be a very important summer for England and obviously for him.
‘But we might not be the only club in that position, so at the end of the day a lot will have to happen I think before we find out where Kalvin Phillips is going to end up, if he’s going to go anywhere.’
Palace are looking for a boost after picking up just one win in their last 10 games and still struggling with injury concerns.
On the players currently missing, Hodgson said: ‘The ones that remain out are Michael Olise, Rob Holding, Cheick Doucouré of course, and Joel Ward. They are the ones that are still definitely out, recovering with Michael.’
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