Like Wolverhampton Wanderers captain Connor Coady, Championship outfit Leeds United could transform Kalvin Phillips into a centre-back.
12 months ago, if you’d asked Leeds United fans who was the most promising young midfielder at Elland Road, many would likely have plumped for Ronaldo Vieira over Kalvin Phillips.
Flash forward to the present day, however, Vieira is struggling for game-time after being sold to Sampdoria while Phillips has come on leaps and bounds under the stewardship of the legendary tactician Marcelo Bielsa.
The Thorpe Arch graduate has evolved from an all-action box-to-box enforcer into a hugely intelligent, tactically astute deep lying playmaker. And, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Phillips could now move even closer back towards his own goal with Leeds suffering from a shortage of centre-backs ahead of Saturday’s clash with Bristol City.
It is reported that the 22-year-old could start in defence due to the absence of Pontus Jansson and Gaetano Berardi. And, should he adapt to a new role, it will be impossible to ignore the similarities between Phillips and a man who lifted the Championship title last season – Wolves skipper Connor Coady.
Like Phillips, Coady started his career as an energetic midfielder but dropped into centre-half last season under Nuno Espirito Santo and never looked back. The former Liverpool youngster is blessed with innate positional intelligence and a brilliant passing range, meaning he is the man who often starts play from the defence in Wolves colours.
And it seems that Phillips, who shares a almost identical skill-set, is undergoing a similar transformation.
Leeds fans will be hoping that, like Coady, Phillips is starring in the Premier League next season too while being tipped to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s England side.
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