Kalvin Phillips repays Southgate’s faith despite his Manchester City exile

Pep Guardiola doesn’t seem to trust him, but Phillips alongside Rice still looks England’s best central midfield combination

When Gareth Southgate set out his stall in the great debate over Phil Foden’s best position earlier this week, arguing that the 23-year-old is unlikely to play in the middle at international level if he is not trusted to do so for Manchester City, it was worth remembering that the England manager can often sound stringent on one issue and then give himself wriggle room on another.

The truth is that what Southgate tells the media is sometimes just a means to an end. This is a manager who can spend a long time sounding very reasonable about excluding Raheem Sterling, pointing out that England are already well stocked in the wide positions, and then squash his own argument by not recalling the Chelsea winger after losing Jack Grealish to injury. Sorry, Raheem: it seems Gareth was just saying the first thing that came into his head that day. Maybe there really is no way back. And maybe, just maybe, it should not be a shock if the logic Southgate applies to Foden – he can’t be in the centre for his country if he isn’t for his club – can be set aside for other members of the squad.