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Manchester City's squad is lacking depth in one key position, something even Pep Guardiola has admitted.

There was no hint of irony in Manchester City's social media post on Wednesday celebrating two years to the day since Kalvin Phillips signed for the club.

It's been a recurring issue for City over the last two years - what sort of coverage do they give to a high-profile player who has made almost no contribution to Pep Guardiola's side?

On this occasion, a low-key social post seemed right. There were no video montages or detailed articles. In contrast, the 13-year anniversary of Gael Clichy signing resulted in a rehashed 26-minute interview being published to the club's website.

Few could have believed just how badly Phillips' signing would turn out when he first joined the club for a fee of PS45m and his lack of game time even resulted in an awkward public apology from Guardiola earlier this year.

"We brought Kalvin here for his quality," the City boss said on another occasion. "He is open minded, always wants to learn and wants to help."

The Yorkshireman was seen, in 2022, as a direct replacement for Fernandinho, who in a sense had become Rodri's back-up by the end of his City career. Yet that hasn't panned out and in the four league games that Rodri missed last season, Mateo Kovacic, Rico Lewis and John Stones were tasked with shielding the defence, rather than Phillips.

Rodri's importance in the team was underlined with three defeats from those matches - the exception being Luton Town at home - and they were the only losses the Premier League champions suffered all campaign.

The Spaniard has slowly evolved into City's most important player, a holding midfielder who dictates the pace of games, is defensively astute and helps build play from the back. That's before considering his goal contributions and City's no.16 scored nine last season and provided 14 assists.

No wonder Guardiola claimed he was 'irreplaceable' in March. But that dependency on Rodri has taken its toll, and the midfielder claimed he 'needed a rest' in the latter stages of the 2023/24 season. Rodri started 48 games - more than any of his team-mates - and has played in three of Spain's four games at Euro 2024.

After a busy summer comes an even busier season for City, one extended by additional Champions League matches and the expanded Club World Cup. Guardiola prefers to work with a smaller squad, but he has at least one dependable replacement in each position, excluding at the base of midfield.

It's why Declan Rice was tentatively pursued last year, while Joshua Kimmich has been linked this summer. The only midfielder who is known as a definite transfer target is Bruno Guimarares - a different sort of midfielder who City turned down the opportunity to sign for PS100m in June.

One possibility is Phillips being given a final chance to impress Guardiola, but it seems unlikely that the fastidious ex-Barcelona boss will change his mind after two years. A permanent departure is surely in everyone's best interest.

But a bigger concern for City is finding adequate cover for the most crucial player in Guardiola's complicated system.