England manager Gareth Southgate warns out-of-favour Yorkshire pair 'this can't go on forever'

Maguire and Phillips are both in the Three Lions squad for June European Championship qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.

Southgate has been loyal to the pair partly because of the sterling job they did for him at the last European Championship – and in Maguire's case the two World Cups around it – and partly because of a lack of alternatives.

But Phillips's lack of game-time since leaving his hometown club Leeds United for Manchester City, along with the emergence of Jude Bellingham and a resurgence in the form of Jordan Henderson, limited the holding midfielder to a bit-part role at the last World Cup in Qatar, where Declan Rice was the third midfielder.

Phillips only made his first Premier League start for City at the weekend, after the title had been secured.

Despite being club captain and injuries to Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, former Sheffield United and Hull City centre-back Maguire has made just four Premier League starts for Manchester United since the World Cup, where he kicked off all five England matches.

“Inevitably it’s not a situation that can continue for ever,” admitted Southgate. “It’s like Kalvin Phillips, they are important players for us and with Kalvin we haven’t got many players who can play as that single pivot.

“Of course the longer that situation goes on the more concerning it is and we’ve got in Marc Guehi, Lewis Dunk, Tyrone Mings, (centre-backs) who are playing well without the same experiences of club European football or international football. But we’ve got to keep searching for competition in that area of the pitch.”

Dunk's Brighton and Hove Albion have qualified for next season's Europa League.

Although he is in the squad for the European Under-21 Championships rather than the seniors this summer, Southgate name-checked Dunk's left-sided centre-back partner Levi Colwill – who spent 2021-22 on loan at Huddersfield Town – for his performances this season.

Southgate has consistently used Maguire as a left-sided central defender despite club manager Erik ten Hag's view that the right-footer from Sheffield cannot play there.

Southgate did not rule out experimenting with Trent Alexander-Arnold as a midfield alternative to Phillips after Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp changed his role so that he plays right-back when the Reds do not have the ball, but moves into central midfield when they do.

“All things are possible,” Southgate said. “I don’t think we should rule anything out. I think his ability with the ball we are all aware of, so the opportunity to get him into those areas.

“There’s a still a lot to learn in terms of receiving it more under pressure. A lot of the teams they have played so far, there has been time to receive, a couple of the more recent games he has been pressed a lot more and that has been different.

"Defending in midfield would be slightly different so there is a new aspect of the game to learn and that’s not going to be perfect to start.

“But I think it is really interesting and he obviously has some attributes that are quite unique... there are different ranges of passing, I would say. He is one that will look forward early and will play passes in behind defences where others maybe don’t have that view first."

A summer transfer seems the only logical solution for Maguire, who cost the Red Devils £80m from Leicester City in 2019. Pep Guardiola has shown in the past a player seemingly out in the cold one season can become important in the next but with Rodri well established as his holding midfielder, Phillips has a decision to make.