Kalvin Phillips was an absolute star at Leeds.
The midfielder isn’t having the best of times at Manchester City right now, but he more than earned the right to play for the Premier League champions during his time at Elland Road.
The Yorkshire Pirlo was moulded into one of the best midfielders in the country under the tutelage of Marcelo Bielsa, but it was with England where he truly proved his ability.
Phillips was arguably the Three Lions’ best player at Euro 2020, and according to Patrick Bamford, speaking on the My Mate’s a Footballer Podcast, some at Leeds were shocked by Phillips’ performances for England.
Those at Leeds weren’t necessarily shocked by how good Phillips was, but they were stunned by the fact he was playing in a more advanced role under Gareth Southgate and thriving.
People at Leeds shocked by Phillips for England
Bamford spoke about his former Leeds teammate.
“He deserved it, the way he was playing for us at Leeds it was integral to how we played and with England as well. When he first went into England he was playing slightly higher up and that surprised some of us at Leeds as well, but he still did well,” Bamford said.
Take note Guardiola
It was a while ago now, but if you think back to that Euro 2020 tournament, you’ll remember that Phillips was brilliant as an advanced number eight.
Since then though, he’s been shoehorned more and more into a defensive role, particularly at Manchester City where he’s not been given any sort of freedom.
Pep Guardiola could really make use of a player like Phillips in those advanced roles every now and then, and perhaps he should look back at those England performances and take note.