After eight seasons in Leeds United's senior squad, Phillips helped the club retain Premier League status the year after lifting the Championship trophy.

Those displays also secured him a prominent role in England's charge to the Euro 2021 final, and the transfer to the Etihad was viewed as the next major step forward.

Instead, it became one of the toughest stretches in his professional life.

When Phillips joined Manchester City ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, he confronted the task of earning minutes in a midfield that had claimed the Premier League title just months earlier.

The situation grew tougher after a single substitute outing in the league, when a shoulder injury picked up in training kept him out for nearly three months.

Phillips missed action from September until November, by which point the domestic schedule paused for the World Cup in Qatar.

This left the England midfielder battling Rodri for a central role, with the Spaniard cementing his status as City's primary holding player.

After limited substitute minutes for England at the World Cup, Phillips returned in December to discover he was omitted from the squad for the first post-break fixture against Liverpool. Guardiola publicly stated he was overweight and unprepared to train or feature.

Once Phillips regained fitness, City had settled into form. Guardiola's team dropped just three of their final 22 league games to claim a fifth title in six seasons.

The club then became the first English side in nearly 25 years to achieve the treble, capturing the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, with Rodri netting the decisive goal against Inter Milan.

In 2024, while on loan at Ipswich Town, Phillips noted that Guardiola's remarks about his weight had left him feeling frustrated.

It would be simple to regard Phillips' time at Manchester City as a tale of squandered ability and missed opportunity.

Looking back, the context around his £45m transfer in 2022 reveals a more intricate situation.

Anderson is unlikely to encounter identical obstacles in his opening season at City next term.

The club enters a phase of change after Guardiola's exit at the close of last season, with Enzo Maresca named as the new head coach.

This represents the largest shift since Guardiola's arrival in 2016 and coincides with the departures of several established figures, including John Stones and Bernardo Silva.

Questions also linger over Rodri's future, with reports from Spain connecting the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner to a possible switch to Real Madrid.

In 2022, City arrived off consecutive league titles and Phillips was tasked with competing against Rodri, who was emerging as one of the world's elite players in his position.

Anderson, however, meets a different test.

As the second-costliest British player in history, his arrival at the Etihad has drawn intense focus.

The 23-year-old understands the examination ahead and can treat Phillips' experience as a reminder of the standards required at one of the Premier League's elite clubs.

For Anderson, the immediate priority is settling swiftly at City and proving he can contribute meaningfully during the club's evolving chapter.