'Huge cavern' - Danny Mills warns Leeds to be 'careful' with 'integral' Elland Road star

The 25-year-old has impressed immensely during his debut season in the Premier League, and drew widespread acclaim for his display as part of a back three against Burnley over the weekend.

For the most part, however, the England international has operated in his preferred defensive midfield role this term, and Mills has made no secret of how vital he believes Phillips is to this Leeds team.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Football Show, the former Elland Road full-back singled out the midfielder for praise, but also pointed to the general effect that Bielsa has had on his entire squad since arriving at the club in 2018.

“He's done very very well, and he’s done very very well the last couple of seasons under Bielsa”, the pundit said.

"But I think that goes for the whole team. Bielsa is not afraid to throw square pegs in round holes and somehow he manages to make it work. Luke Ayling has been playing at centre-half and has done incredibly well.

"What I would say about Bielsa is that he seems to get 150% out of all those players. They’re all playing way above expectations, and they have done for the last couple of seasons.

"It’s not easy, because the majority of the team still are of Championship quality, but they’re playing above that at the moment. If they keep playing the way that they do, that’s not going to change.

"Kalvin Phillips has been integral to that. I’ve seen it when Kalvin Phillips is not in the team. There is this huge gap, this huge cavern of a hole, because basically you’ve got six players attacking and four defenders, and there’s nothing in the middle.

"Leeds have got to be careful. That’s a lot of work sometimes for Kalvin Phillips to cover and sort out.

"But Leeds will survive. That’s the most important thing this season. They will be very very entertaining, but the way they play, they will lose games and they will win games.”