'As good as I’ve seen' - Leeds United veteran and boss Jesse Marsch discuss Kalvin Phillips' role

For the last couple of years, timing has been everything for Kalvin Phillips at Leeds United.
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The arrival of Marcelo Bielsa came at a good time in the Leeds lad’s life, turning him into the exact type of midfielder his club and, latterly, his country needed.

Leeds won promotion just as Phillips’ star had risen to a point where, had they remained a Championship outfit, he would have been in reach of the once-spurned Aston Villa and other, richer top-flight clubs.

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He arrived in the Premier League, with his hometown club, in time to make an England place his in a season that culminated in a major championship, one he played almost every single minute of.

The timing of his hamstring tear, on the day that Liam Cooper and Patrick Bamford damaged theirs, could not have been worse but the timing of his return is almost perfect.

Back in training this week, the 26-year-old, along with his captain Cooper, has given new head coach Jesse Marsch and the entire club a lift.

The mere sight of him on the grass at Thorp Arch was enough to breathe confidence into a fanbase still desperately worried over their club’s league position, and being in contention once again, for Wolves, is another huge positive following on from the vital weekend win over Norwich City.

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Perhaps crucially, for club rather than country, his return has not been completed sufficiently for him to be called up by Gareth Southgate for the March games against Ivory Coast and Switzerland, allowing Leeds to take all the time they need to bring him back up to speed before facing Southampton on April 2.

RETURNING STAR - Kalvin Phillips has returned to full training with Leeds United and is finally in contention to play football again, ahead of the Wolves trip. But his role and his manager have changed. Pic: GettyRETURNING STAR - Kalvin Phillips has returned to full training with Leeds United and is finally in contention to play football again, ahead of the Wolves trip. But his role and his manager have changed. Pic: Getty
RETURNING STAR - Kalvin Phillips has returned to full training with Leeds United and is finally in contention to play football again, ahead of the Wolves trip. But his role and his manager have changed. Pic: Getty

Phillips has always tended to bounce back promptly and impressively from injuries and, although Marsch is not expected to throw him back in, some minutes against Wolves are likely, particularly if there is a result to be held onto. The hope is that he returns as the same player who proved himself to be a classy Premier League operator and the one who made himself a fixture of the national team, prior to his December injury.

The team he returns to, however, is not the same. Bielsa, a man who almost occupied a fatherly role in Phillips’ life for almost four years, is gone and a new man stands in his place. Marsch has already changed the way Leeds play and the role he sees for the returning midfielder is not the lone central defensive midfield one in which Phillips made his name. Leeds now line up in a 4-2-2-2, with a pair of central midfielders sitting reasonably deep and providing a base from which the attackers can go and play.

It will be different, but not completely alien, to Phillips.

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“We had a good conversation and he said that actually it’s not that dissimilar from what they do with the national team,” said Marsch.

“So he plays a lot in there with Declan Rice and they share a lot of responsibilities as a double six against the ball. They tried to do some of the similar things with pressing, they talk about counter pressing.

“So, you know, obviously, it’s not exactly the same but there are similarities and Kalvin’s an intelligent guy, so I think he’ll be able to adjust relatively quickly.”

Phillips taking on more of a box-to-box role to such good effect for England last summer took people, even some of his club-mates by surprise, given the last time he played like that for his club was in the pre-Bielsa doldrums.

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Adam Forshaw was among those watching at home with pride as Phillips shone on the world stage.

“Him and Declan Rice are predominantly sitters in midfield but they were key to England’s success, they were a real anchor in the team and allowed the wingers and the front men, the real stars if you like, to go and do their business,” he told the YEP.

“I think they both deserve massive credit, they’re top, top players for England now and showed it in the summer.”

It wasn’t the first time Phillips had raised eyebrows.

Forshaw recalls the surprise felt by everyone, Phillips included, when Bielsa changed his role at Leeds and turned him into a different animal altogether.

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“I remember the first training session, him saying ‘no, Kalvin will play in front of the back three or back four’ and Kalvin was a bit surprised, everyone was, but it turned out to be the best decision for his career,” he said.

“He’s developed incredibly. Everything, his physicality, his conditioning, his game understanding. I’m probably right in saying [Bielsa] saw it from day one.”

For Marsch, Phillips will still use all his defensive abilities and his reading of the game but alongside another, in a role that will offer a little more licence to roam and harness his mobility.

Forshaw, who has already experienced that exact role under the new head coach, says Phillips’ defensive work is at an elite level.

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“Without the ball, he’s probably as good as I’ve seen, he’s up there with any of the number sixes or fours, whatever you like to call them,” he said.

“I joked with him a few weeks ago, I called him a smotherer because he seems to smother players.

“There’s no way out when he gets around them, he’s got big strong legs. I’d say that’s his biggest attribute in that position, it’s a good one to have.”

And Phillips, at this stage of the season, with Leeds in this position, is a good player to have coming back.

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Marsch has already drafted the local lad into his ‘leadership council’ alongside six other key voices in the changing room because he wants Phillips to take on a key role both on and off the pitch.

The head coach has described the midfielder as one of the club’s best players, one he wants to keep at the club for a long time, but he still wants to get more out of Phillips.

“I think Kalvin, as good as he is, I think he has room as a leader to grow and, room with intensity and being aggressive against the ball and then how to use his quality with the ball to help himself and the team,” said Marsch.

“That will certainly be the goal and I think that all of these young men are committed to that fully.”

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First things first, Phillips has to start playing football again after a little over 100 days out of action. He has to find form again and learn a new style of play. But, oh so importantly, he’s back.

And as returns go, have you ever seen one better timed?