Patrick Bamford has been speaking to PA about Kalvin Phillips and Leeds, where he made a surprise admission.
What’s the story?
Well, the £7m striker admitted that “all” the Leeds squad were pushing the England international to join Manchester City before he sealed his £45m move to the Etihad Stadium.
Bamford said: “None of us can begrudge him for going. I think we were all, kind of, as sad as it is, pushing him, because he deserves it and it’s his time.”
Now, that is somewhat surprising to us, as you’d presume the Leeds squad would’ve preferred to see Phillips stay at Elland Road, given his immense talent.
However, it just goes to show what a good teammate the 26-year-old was for those in Yorkshire.
Phillips clearly earned the respect of his teammates, to the point where they were “pushing” him to take a significant step up in his career even though it would be to the detriment of their own hopes for the 2022/23 season.
Ultimately, Bamford is right.
Phillips worked tirelessly for Leeds across his 232 appearances for the Whites, and was always the model professional during his time at Elland Road.
If anyone deserves to be winning trophies and playing in the Champions League, it’s him.
Leeds have done well to replace Kalvin Phillips
In our view, Jesse Marsch has reacted impressively to the departure of Phillips.
The arrivals of Marc Roca and Tyler Adams should provide Leeds with plenty of bite in midfield, while the pair are also both fine passers of the ball.
Phillips excelled in both departments, so it is evident that Victor Orta and those on the recruitment team went the extra mile to find players who could replace what the Yorkshire Pirlo brought to the side.
Only time will tell how they cope in the Premier League, but on the basis of pre-season so far, Roca and Adams will do just fine in England’s top-flight.
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