Amidst the buzz that has surrounded the arrivals of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez at Manchester City, a signing that has gone under the radar is Kalvin Phillips.
Completing a £42 million move from Leeds United, the 26-year old has been brought in as a replacement for Fernandinho, who left the club this summer.
Much like how the former City skipper was utilised as an understudy to Rodri in his latter days, the Englishman is expected to serve the same role next season.
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While it is likely that Phillips will not be handed the same level of responsibility as he was during his time at Elland Road in his debut campaign, his reputation remains sky high.
After all, the Leeds-born star is viewed as one of the Premier League’s finest defensive midfielders.
The ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ was rated highly enough by Gareth Southgate to the extent that he received his first England call-up while still playing in the Championship.
At Euro 2020, Phillips perhaps unlocked the best version of himself by thriving alongside Declan Rice in a double pivot.
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So much so that the multifunctional midfielder won the 2021 England Player of The Year, for his sparkling displays for both club and country.
As a result, all the dots connect as to why the Premier League champions were so insistent on his arrival this summer.
Despite operating in a potentially understated capacity in the following campaign, the now-Sky Blues anchor has revealed that he plans to showcase his life behind-the-scenes in an exclusive Amazon documentary.
“Yeah, I’m working on an Amazon documentary.
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"We’ve been working together for the last two months or so and it’s been good.
"As soon as they came to me and said that they wanted to do it, I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to inspire a lot of people and young children,’” he disclosed in an interview with GQ magazine.
Phillips continued, “It’s not all about football, it’s about how I am as a person and family life and everything outside of football.
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"It might show a lot of young kids that no matter what you look like or where you are from or how hard your childhood’s been, it’s how hard you work and what you can achieve when you work so hard."
Such a noble revelation from Phillips is also an insight into the type of down-to-earth characters City like to ultimately see represent their club.
We might see Phillips make his first competitive appearance for the Blues this weekend.
They begin their defence of the Premier League title on Sunday at the London Stadium against West Ham United.
Featured Image Credit: PA Images / AlamyTopics: Manchester City, Kalvin Phillips, Premier League