Everton hit immediate stumbling block in pursuit of Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips

Premier League side Everton have immediately hit a major stumbling block as part of their interest in Manchester City’s out-of-favour midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

The Englishman has endured yet another challenging campaign with the Premier League champions, despite his best attempts to revive his top-level playing career elsewhere in the English top-flight.

The 28-year-old agreed to a six-month loan deal with West Ham United, hoping to see an improvements in both his on-field opportunities whilst working under David Moyes, and his performances ahead of the European Championships with England this summer.

However, after a string of performances littered with individual errors and a clear destruction in his personal confidence on the field, Phillips has returned to Manchester City with no interest of a permanent deal from the Hammers.

A further chance to play in the Premier League had seemingly appeared this week though, despite Leeds United’s failure to secure promotion from the Championship, with Sean Dyche and Everton willing to show their faith in the midfielder.

But despite the positive news for Phillips, and according to the information of Manchester City insider ‘Tolmie’s Hairdoo’ on X, Everton currently do not have the money to afford a loan deal for Kalvin Phillips, despite their interest in the Englishman.

It is claimed that the Premier League champions would want all of Kalvin Phillips’ wages paid by any club sanctioning a loan move, in this case Everton, as well as a ‘sizeable’ loan fee on top of such terms.

Phillips is not the only midfielder that could yet be walking through the exit door at Manchester City this summer, with uncertainty continuing to loom over the future of Bernardo Silva.

The Portugal international – who will be starring at this summer’s European Championships in Germany – is facing a fourth successive summer market eyeing an exit from the Premier League champions, but with clubs unable to finance a deal.

As part of a contract renewal at Manchester City last summer, Bernardo Silva’s representatives installed a £50 million release clause valid from this summer, meaning any club that pays the fee will secure his services.