fˈɛlæn mˈuːvd tə tʃˈɛlsiː ɪn noʊvˈɛmbɚ nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti fˈaɪv, wˌɛɹ hiː spˈɛnt tˈuː jˈɪɹz ɔnðə fɹˈɪndʒᵻz ʌvðə fˈɜːst tˈiːm plˈeɪɪŋ dʒˈʌst fˈɪftiːn tˈaɪmz ɪnðə lˈiːɡ bᵻfˌoːɹ mˈuːvɪŋ tʊ ˈɛvɚtən, wˌɛɹ hiː plˈeɪd ɹˈɛɡjʊlɚli ˌʌndɚ dʒˈoʊ ɹˈɔɪl, ʌntˈɪl hiː sˈʌfɚd ɐn ˈɪndʒɚɹi fɹʌm wˈɪtʃ hiː tˈʊk nˌɪɹli ˈeɪtiːn mˈʌnθs tə ɹᵻkˈʌvɚ.
Phelan moved to Chelsea in November 1995, where he spent two years on the fringes of the first team (playing just 15 times in the league) before moving to Everton, where he played regularly under Joe Royle, until he suffered an injury from which he took nearly 18 months to recover.