"We will see at the end of the season" - Pep Guardiola hints at Manchester City's decision on midfielder amid Liverpool interest

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has refused to shut the door on a potential exit for reported Liverpool transfer target Kalvin Phillips this summer.

Phillips was signed last summer for a fee of £42 million from Leeds United to provide competition for Rodri after Fernandinho's exit. He signed a six-year-long deal and seemed destined to take the next big step in his career.

However, the England international has yet to start a Premier League game for the Cityzens. Fifteen of his 17 appearances across competitions have come from the bench. It is clear he is pretty low in Guardiola's pecking order.

Liverpool have reportedly been linked with a move to sign the 27-year-old ahead of a potential midfield rebuild for next season. Guardiola was coy when asked to address the Englishman's situation at the Etihad at his pre-match press conference.

The Spanish tactician said, via the Express:

"All of them, not just Kalvin, all of them [should win my confidence] in how they perform. In some things, he needs to adapt a little bit more but what happens next season, I'm not concerned for one second now."

He added:

"We will see at the end of the season. We’ll sit with the players. Maybe they want more minutes or maybe they are not happy with the situation. Right now I'm not going to discuss anything."

Phillips could feel like he is wasting the best years of his career on Manchester City's bench. He will hope to feature in some capacity when the Cityzens take on his former club, Leeds United, in the league later today (May 6).

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp addresses former Manchester City midfielder's reported Brighton links

According to Liverpool Echo, James Milner is on the verge of leaving Liverpool and joining Brighton & Hove Albion this summer.

The 37-year-old's contract expires at the end of the season and he is yet to pen fresh terms. He joined the Reds on a free transfer in the summer of 2015 from Manchester City and has since won every major trophy with the club.

Jurgen Klopp was asked to address Milner's future at a recent press conference amid his links with Brighton. The German manager replied:

"He knows how highly I value him. He's an incredible part of this team and I would have loved to have work together with him even longer. What exactly the outcome will be of his decision, I think Milly will say that at one point. I'm not sure if it happened already or not, I'm not really aware of that."

Milner has mustered an impressive tally of 39 appearances across competitions this season but has made the starting XI just 11 times.