The 20-year-old is looking a pair of experienced Whites stars.
Leeds United starlet Kalvin Phillips has told LUTV that he looks to senior pair Eunan O’Kane and Pablo Hernandez as role models on a daily basis.
Phillips made his senior debut for the Whites in April 2015, and was awarded a new three-year deal soon after Garry Monk took over as manager during the summer.
The young midfielder has subsequently become a regular in Monk’s starting XI, making 20 appearances already in all competitions and taking advantage of captain Liam Bridcutt’s injury absence to nail down a recurring starting role.
The way he has taken to life in the first XI has been hugely impressive, and was rightly rewarded with the EFL Young Player of the Month award. Phillips has shown maturity far beyond his years, to the extent that some have suggested that it will be difficult for Bridcutt to dislodge him and win his place back.
Speaking to LUTV about his season so far, Phillips admitted that he looks to follow the example of some of his more experienced teammates, citing O’Kane and Hernandez as role models.
The young star said: “Obviously we see them day in and day out, and the work they put into the training ground.
“You just think that ‘I need to do what they exactly do’ because they have been at the top level and that’s where we want to be and that’s where we want to take the club to, the top level.”
There are high hopes at Elland Road for Phillips’ career. He is the latest in a long line of youngsters to make the grade in the first team, a list which includes the likes of his current teammates Alex Mowatt and Charlie Taylor.
If he can stay on the right track and emulate players such as O’Kane, who clearly have the right attitude to succeed, he could be a mainstay in the Whites team for years to come.
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