The Manchester City midfielder plans an early return to pre-season training

Out-of-favour Manchester City and England midfielder Kalvin Phillips is planning an early return to pre-season training in a bid to revive his top-flight career.

The former Leeds United star endured a challenging second consecutive campaign with Pep Guardiola’s side last season, prompting a desperate loan move to force a breakthrough back into Gareth Southgate’s England plans.

A six-month loan deal with David Moyes’ West Ham United couldn’t have been further from Phillips’ goals, however, as he struggles to get consistent playing time in the center of the park, being on the receiving end of errors individual and receiving a red. card.

That spell at the London Stadium ended early, too, with Kalvin Phillips suffering a muscle injury that would see him return to Manchester City with three games remaining and watching his side lift the Premier League crown from the stands against his loan club.

But there remains a clear ambition to return to his former glories and standards set during his time at Elland Road, with a message sent back to Manchester City and the coaching staff about his summer intentions.

The 28-year-old is claimed to have indicated to Manchester City that he wants to return to City’s Football Academy training base “a few weeks in advance” to manager Pep Guardiola and the other stars who will not be on international duty this summer .

Elsewhere, Jack Grealish is also understood to be aiming for an early return to pre-season training after being ruled out by Gareth Southgate for the ongoing European Championships in Germany.

The former Aston Villa captain used Juventus’ training facilities while on holiday this summer and has been assured by manager Pep Guardiola that he still has full faith in Grealish’s abilities.

Last campaign was largely hampered by a mixture of injury problems and somewhat of a Treble hangover as Grealish struggled to come to terms with the success of a historic campaign for Manchester City.

That said, though, a long summer break and a chance to refocus could be the best thing that could happen to the striker, who could play an important role in a number of positions for Pep Guardiola’s side next season.