Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Marcelo Bielsa has been speaking about Kalvin Phillips’ best position after his outing at centre-half against Tottenham.
Bielsa utilised the Yorkshire Pirlo as a centre-half against Tottenham, and while ‘the Yorkshire Maldini’ is a very catchy nickname, it doesn’t seem as though it’s one that will be catching on.
Indeed, Bielsa says that although Phillips played as a centre-half against Tottenham, he’s going to try and make sure he plays most of his minutes as a defensive midfielder.
What’s been said about Phillips?
Bielsa spoke about Phillips’ position going forward.
“At Leeds, his natural position will be at defensive mid. That’s the place where you most see Kalvin’s qualities. Of course, I will try to make sure that he plays most of his minutes in that position,” Bielsa said
“(He was) our best player in the game against Tottenham – he was our best player in the moments that corresponded alongside Cooper and Llorente, following Kane when he dropped deep. We talked about thinking who could adapt best to following Kane and it was Phillips. It’s a method very clear in Tottenham. Kane drops and does the diagonal from centre to the left [to Son]. With Phillips and Llorente paired up with those two players and Cooper waiting as a free man. That worked very well. Nothing that allows a player to shine should make it uncomfortable for him.”
For the best
This is the best thing to do going forward at Leeds.
While he played well, Phillips clearly wasn’t happy with the Argentine’s decision to play him at centre-half, openly questioning his manager in his post-match interview after the game.
Robbie Keane noted how unhappy Phillips seemed with his manager’s decision, but luckily, it seems as though this won’t be a persistent issue for the England international.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
