“Hasn’t been good enough” – Gareth Southgate issues damning message to Manchester City loanee after England squad omission

England manager Gareth Southgate has sent a damning warning to on-loan Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

The 28-year-old has been omitted from the England squad for upcoming international friendlies against both Brazil and Belgium at Wembley Stadium, throwing doubt onto the likelihood of the midfielder’s selection for this summer’s European Championship in Germany.

Phillips quit Manchester City for West Ham United in January in an attempt to revive his hopes of being selected for the tournament, but has struggled since moving to the London Stadium.

The midfielder moved to West Ham for the remainder of the current campaign, and has been handed six appearances by David Moyes across the Premier League and UEFA Europa League.

Philips was hooked off against Burnley at the weekend after just 45 minutes and was also sent off during the Hammers’ recent defeat to Nottingham Forest last month.

The Leeds-born midfielder was selected for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022 despite making only a handful of appearances for Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola handing just six starts to the Englishman over an 18 month period.

Phillips didn’t make his full City debut in the Premier League until a 1-0 win over Chelsea last May, although the midfielder did score in the UEFA Champions League in December, when the Sky Blues beat Red Star Belgrade.

Phillips’ future beyond this season is subject to serious doubt and the 28-year-olds England career is also in jeopardy, after Three Lions boss Southgate issued a damning message to the midfielder.

“Unfortunately, his form just hasn’t been good enough,” admitted Southgate.

“I’ve spoken to him, he knows that. I said to him towards the end of last year, if he didn’t play at City, it was going to be a problem.

“I think he knows exactly what we think of him. A good version of him is an important player for us. We don’t have many players of that profile.”

Manchester City trio John Stones, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden were all called-up for the upcoming March friendlies, meanwhile Jack Grealish wasn’t selected due to ongoing injury problems.

Grealish suffered a recurrence of a recent groin injury against Luton Town in the Emirates FA Cup fifth round, and a timeframe for his return to action is currently unknown.