Kalvin Phillips has been getting chances in midfield ahead of Leeds United’s Adam Forshaw.
Noel Whelan has told West Yorkshire Sport Daily that he feels that Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips is a better midfielder than Adam Forshaw.
Phillips has reminded Leeds fans and head coach Marcelo Bielsa of his importance in recent games.
Last Saturday, the 23-year-old, given a rare start in his favoured defensive midfield position, scored a 101st-minute equaliser away to Middlesbrough, before dazzling in the 2-1 win over Swansea City in midweek.
Forshaw, a £4.5 million signing last January [Daily Mail], was absent through injury but Bielsa said prior to the Boro game that the Liverpudlian would have started ahead of Phillips.
Debate continues to rage over who is the better fit for United in that position, with many fans adamant that it should be Phillips’s place to lose.
And former Leeds hitman Whelan is in total agreement, arguing that the Thorp Arch graduate ‘ticks more boxes’.
He told West Yorkshire Sport Daily: “The potential was there [with Phillips]. I could see it last season, he’s got that controlled aggression. He’s picking his passes better, he’s mature in the way he plays.
“I was surprised he was left out against Norwich. He ticks more boxes for me than Forshaw. You could play the two of them, with Forshaw more further forward, but you need Phillips.”
Leeds are back in action next Saturday when Bolton visit West Yorkshire, and there’ll be uproar if Bielsa brings back Forshaw for Phillips.
The youngster has earned his spot in midfield and the Argentine wouldn’t be sending a healthy message to the rest of the squad if he brings the former Boro man back immediately.
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