Leeds United ace Kalvin Phillips has been backed for England duty.
Pundit Danny Higginbotham has told The Sun that he thinks Leeds United ace Kalvin Phillips should be looked at by England ahead of EURO 2020.
England won both of their games over this international break, hammering Montenegro 7-0 on Thursday before winning in Kosovo on Sunday.
Gareth Southgate saw his side win 4-0 in Pristina last night, with Harry Winks, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount all getting themselves on the scoresheet.
Southgate will now use the coming months to flesh out his EURO 2020 squad, but there is still a question for him to answer about the centre of his midfield.
Jordan Henderson’s role is nailed down, but Declan Rice and Harry Winks appear to be battling to play alongside him, with Winks potentially emerging ahead of Rice.
Still, other players will have hope of joining Henderson in midfield, and Higginbotham feels that it’s time for Southgate to look outside of the Premier League and go for Leeds star Phillips.
The 23-year-old has been arguably the best Championship holding midfielder over the last year, with Ben Pearson possibly the only challenger to that crown since Phillips began to thrive under Marcelo Bielsa.
Higginbotham has now boldly suggested that Phillips could solve Southgate’s midfield conundrum, claiming he has no issue with the fact that he’s playing in the Championship and has never featured in the Premier League.
Higginbotham added that Phillips is ‘outstanding’, possessing great positional sense, tackling and distribution, and thinks Southgate should give Phillips a go given that he called up Mason Mount whilst in the Championship last year.
“Gareth Southgate has switched between Declan Rice and Harry Winks in this holding position — but for me it is still up for grabs ahead of next summer. Looking outside the current squad, there are not exactly many English defensive midfielders excelling in the Premier League. But in Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips I see someone who could force his way into Southgate’s reckoning,” said Higginbotham. “The 23-year-old has been outstanding for Marcelo Bielsa’s side and has a number of really good attributes. I like his positional sense, he’s a very good tackler, and his distribution both long and short is fantastic.”
“Yes, Phillips has never played in the Premier League. But I don’t have an issue with that at all — there were plenty of clubs in for him over the summer and he would undoubtedly be playing in the top tier now if Leeds hadn’t done everything to keep hold of him. And in calling up Mason Mount last October when he was on loan at Derby from Chelsea, Southgate has shown he is not afraid to select a Championship player. The Three Lions don’t play again until March — if Phillips continues in this current vein of form then I see no reason why he shouldn’t be involved. I’m not saying he should be brought in as first choice. But in a position which is yet to be locked down, Phillips is well worth having a look at,” he added.
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