Jermaine Beckford has praised Kalvin Phillips and stated that he is a ‘reassurance’ to his Leeds United teammates.
On Monday night, Phillips returned to action after a long injury lay-off and helped Leeds boost their Premier League relegation chances by picking up a point at Palace.
Whilst Leeds aren’t out of the Premier League relegation battle yet, it puts them closer to safety heading into the final few weeks of the season.
The key thing for Jesse Marsch and his players is to ensure they don’t take this fight to the last day of the season.
Well, with Phillips back in the side, they have a great chance of doing that, as Beckford described the 26-year-old as a ‘vital cog’ within the team, as he told Premier League Productions.
“What Kalvin Phillips offers you is like a reassurance for the players that are around him,” said Beckford. “He gives Raphinha, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison the freedom to explore and express themselves.
“He is excellent at breaking up play. He reads the game really well and understands where those dangers are and he fills in those gaps and positions as well.
“That’s something that Leeds have been missing – that’s why Leeds have been in the position they have been in, one of the vital cogs has been missing.”
For Leeds, it’s only the small matter of locking horns with Manchester City over the weekend.
Pep Guardiola’s side put seven goals past then-Marcelo Bielsa’s team back in December, but that was a period of the season where Leeds were really, really struggling.
Marsch has certainly shored up the team since he replaced Bielsa in the dugout, but he still has his work cut out.
On Tuesday night, Man City were involved in an enthralling 4-3 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League, so Leeds fans will be hoping that game has taken something out of them.
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