It’s not easy leaving your boyhood club, but it’s exactly what Kalvin Phillips decided to do this summer when he left Leeds United.
The England international is now in Manchester City colours, as ex-Leeds United player, Michael Brown, shared that he spoke with the hard-hitting midfielder recently.
Brown told Sky Sports News that Phillips was ‘enjoying’ his time at the Etihad and he has now ‘got his house sorted’ after leaving Yorkshire.
The issue for Leeds this summer is that they just didn’t lose one key figure from their squad, but two in the now-Barcelona star, Raphinha.
For Jesse Marsch and the players, this forthcoming campaign will probably test their mental strength more than anything else because they can no longer turn to Raphinha or Phillips.
Nonetheless, Brown shared his thoughts on Phillips and what he noticed about the player when speaking to him recently during a Manchester City media day.
“Rodri’s going to be that first choice, you would expect that,” said Brown. “I spoke to Kalvin Phillips on the media day and he’s enjoying his time there. He’s settled. He has got his house sorted and he feels very, very comfortable.
“I think what we can understand about Phillips and the role he can play is that, it’s not just that six, not just sitting in front of the back four.
“But he can play as an eight, he can drop into centre-back if Guardiola would like to change to a three, so he has many, many options.
“Or does he go alongside Rodri during the big games? He’s a great signing and a great character around the dressing room.”
WHAT IMPACT CAN PHILLIPS HAVE?
It’s pretty obvious that Phillips isn’t going to walk into Pep Guardiola’s XI and he will now have to get used to warming the bench.
Last season, Jack Grealish made a similar move to his fellow countryman, and struggled, but most importantly, he wasn’t used as much, especially during the bigger games.
It could be a different story for Phillips because one wall Manchester City keep hitting is their continued meltdowns in the Champions League.
The prime example is the second-leg defeat to Real Madrid last season in the Champions League semi-final and how the Premier League champions let it slip right at the end.
Perhaps, with Phillips now on the club’s books, Guardiola might play both the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ and Rodri in the same midfield, if that same situation came about next season.
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