Fernandinho comment opens Kalvin Phillips up to new Man City role
manchestereveningnews.co.ukSo complete has Fernandinho been for so long at Manchester City that it is easy to forget how he started off. As soon as Pep Guardiola arrived he said the Brazilian had the intelligence to play all over the pitch, but he turned into the perfect No.6 behind two No.8s in the 2017/18 season as City dominated the Premier League like nobody had ever seen.
Fernandinho became known as the snarling pitbull that whipped out tactical fouls to defend his team whenever Kevin De Bruyne or David Silva lost the ball - a role he did better than anybody.
But he did not arrive at City to be a No.6, as a new documentary points out; Txiki Begiristain admitted he was more of a No.8 when they signed him and Vincent Kompany remembers thinking of him as a more attacking player based on the goals he had seen him score for Shakhtar.
As Fernandinho said though: "Sometimes you become the player a club needs you to be, and that's what happened to me." Also read: Kalvin Phillips admits intrigue after being convinced by Man City duo That line (while sounding a bit too close to the line about Batman being the hero Gotham needs in The Dark Knight) should instruct Kalvin Phillips as he takes his place in the City's squad replacing Fernandinho.
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