Manchester City have finally unveiled their latest signing in the shape of Leeds United and England midfielder, Kalvin Phillips.
The 26-year-old has signed for a reported fee of £45 million and joins the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan in Pep Guardiola’s midfield.
But it's Spaniard Rodri who Phillips is most likely to be competing with for minutes, as Fernandinho - often Rodri’s backup last season - is the man being replaced in the squad.
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Born in Leeds in the mid-90’s, Phillips started playing football in the Under-8’s side at local club Wortley FC. The team even sent him a video message wishing him luck before the European Championships last year.
After catching the eye in youth football, the midfielder joined the academy setup at Leeds United aged just 14. Half a decade later he was signing his first professional contract at the club, then in the Championship.
His leadership potential was on full display even then as he was quickly named captain of the development teams.
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Phillips quickly became a crucial component of Leeds’ frequent promotion pushes, making over 160 Championship appearances under various coaches, including Argentine Marcelo Bielsa.
Bielsa turned Phillips from a traditional box-to-box player into a more defensive midfielder, seeing the potential to utilise his ball-winning skills and work rate while unlocking some of his less refined passing abilities.
Interestingly, Phillips himself also revealed that Bielsa had trained him to play as a centre-back for a time - and he was deployed in the position in the Championship a few times.
However, we haven’t seen enough of him in action there to know if he could realistically offer cover in defence for City.
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The 26-year-old was full of praise for his boss when Bielsa departed the club last season, saying that he “saw in me what I didn’t even see in myself… helped me grow as a player but most importantly as a person.”
Phillips was again a regular in the Premier League when fit, with only injuries restricting his appearances, but stellar performances quickly led him to be recognised as one of the best defensive midfielders in the division.
It was inevitable that this growing reputation would eventually lead to a phone call from a certain Gareth Southgate.
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Phillips was eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland or Jamaica, but elected to play for England and received his first call-up in August 2020, in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. His first cap came in the Nations League against Denmark, and Phillips immediately slotted into the England side with ease.
Therefore, nobody was surprised when Southgate selected Phillips to represent his country at the delayed 2020 European Championships. His performances earned plaudits from all over, starting every game as England reached the final and asserting himself as one of the best players in the squad.
His performances in this time period led to Phillips being awarded the 2020/21 England Senior Men’s Player of the Year, voted for by fans, in which he beat out Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling to the honour.
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The 2021/22 season was a difficult one for Leeds United. Various injuries to key players - including Phillips - were a big part of the problem as the Whites only just avoided relegation, at the cost of losing fan favourite manager Bielsa.
Rumours linking Phillips with City started to pick up the pace towards the end of the campaign and, by the time Leeds’ survival was confirmed, it looked less than likely that their star midfielder would stay to work with new boss Jesse Marsch.
So what can we learn from the career so far of City’s new signing?
Well, Pep Guardiola has certainly opted for stranger players to fill in at centre-back, so he could get some minutes in defence if Nathan Aké does indeed leave the club.
With his experience captaining youth sides, a spot in Guardiola’s typical five-man leadership group could also be on the horizon if Phillips makes a good first impression in his first few years.
Phillips will get started with his new side when pre-season kicks off in July, and we could see him in action throughout the upcoming friendly matches before Liverpool face City in the Community Shield at the end of the month.
If he stays fit and plays well, he’s also in with a good shout of travelling to the World Cup with England at the end of the calendar year.
Topics: Manchester City, Kalvin Phillips, Premier League, Leeds United, Manchester City Transfer News & Rumours
Nathan Allen