Micah Richards has warned Manchester City not to sell Kalvin Phillips to Liverpool
Phillips joined City for an initial £42million fee last summer, though made only four starts for the club across all competitions
Unable to make an impression on the Sky Blues' manager, Phillips was called "overweight" by Guardiola during a press conference in December
With first-team football proving hard to come by, the obvious temptation for the former Leeds United star would be to seek a move away
Liverpool have been linked with a move for the England international as they look to address their midfield department
City learned the hard way what can happen when selling directly to a Premier League rival last campaign, watching Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus help fire Arsenal into title contention
Richards has made clear this is a mistake the current league leaders cannot afford to make again.
Richards
"Phillips is a difficult one. He has gone to City and got injured, but it was not a small injury. When he came back, he got injured again. Remember him at the Euros? Him and [Declan] Rice in that defensive partnership were fantastic.
"We know that he has got it and he isn't going to get that run of games at City because Rodri is probably the best defensive midfielder in the world. You can bring in [Mateo] Kovacic, you can bring Bernardo Silva into that position, then you have got your full-backs coming into midfield.
"He's not going to get a game," added the ex-City right-back. "Would I sell him to the rivals and Liverpool? No. I wouldn't do that. He's very capable of playing for Liverpool and doing very well. He's exactly what they need as well."
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