What has happened to Kalvin Phillips’ career is a crying shame. In that perfect summer of 2021, when England were nearly the best in Europe, Phillips was the beating heart of Southgate’s reenergised team. While his performances were a shock to the opponents, he bossed the Croatia match against Luka Modric with Leeds fans already well aware of his true capabilities. Back in the beautiful years under Marco Bielsa, when Leeds had enough style to outplay any side in the league on their day, Phillips was the conductor; Bielsa’s first sergeant on the pitch. The “Yorkshire Pirlo” wasn’t just a nickname, he carried it onto the national stage. An equally electric series of performances in the 2022 World Cup earned Kalvina move to Pep Guardiola’s Man City in 2023. He went on to sign a six-year deal, and that’s where it all went wrong. The 29-year-old is now without any prospect of playing first team football, or even a squad number, at The Etihad as Pep passed his number 4 on to new signing Tijjani Reijnders. When we know what Phillips was capable of just a few years ago, it’s sad to see him on the sidelines…
What has happened to Kalvin Phillips’ career is a crying shame. In that perfect summer of 2021, when England were nearly the best in Europe, […]
