Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips on his 'surreal' England experience and Gareth Southgate's phone call

Kalvin Phillips has admitted that his England call-up has been surreal following a whirlwind few days with Gareth Southgate’s team at St George’s Park.

The Three Lions have been preparing for a Nations League double header in Staffordshire with ‘The Yorkshire Pirlo’ adjusting to his new surroundings.

Southgate opted to include Phillips in his 24-man squad for the first time ahead of games against Iceland and Denmark in Group Two following a stellar season at Elland Road.

The Leeds United midfield linchpin has been crucial in the club’s rise to the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa in LS11 with the Whites lifting the Championship title last term.

If selected, Phillips would become United’s first England representative since 2004 – the same season Leeds were relegated from the top flight.

The 24-year-old, though, has confessed he didn’t believe he would ever be in a position to pull on his nation’s jersey.

“It’s surreal. I never thought I would be in this position – especially without kicking a ball in the Premier League,” Phillips said.

“It’s always been my ambition to maybe play for my country but I never thought I deserved to be there or I need to be there. Or even that I should be getting picked.

“I’m very grateful to the manager and the staff for the decision to bring me in. I’m also very grateful to my team-mates as well at Leeds who have helped me.”

Phillips has had his first taste of training under Southgate this week, with England in action on Saturday evening in Reykjavík before a trip to Copenhagen next Tuesday.

The Three Lions new boy admits that the sessions are a change from what he is used to at Thorp Arch under Bielsa’s regime.

“It’s very different,” he revealed.

“At Leeds we do more tactical drills whereas at England we’ve been doing more possession-based football, which kind of caught me by surprise.

“I’ve been training for quite a long time this pre-season, so I was a bit nervous at first when I started warming up but as soon as the nerves go you’re fine.

“The tempo of the training sessions are a lot quicker. There’s some very good players in the group. I’m not going to single anyone out but it’s a good group and there are a lot of great players in there.

“I see myself as a deep-lying midfielder, getting on the ball. Over the last two years we’ve got a manager at Leeds that changed my position and I’ve done quite well.

“I’m not saying that I deserved an England call-up but I was very lucky and privileged to get one. With the competition in the midfield there’s a lot of good players.

“Declan Rice... [James] Ward-Prowse – they’re established and I’ll just go into training and try to take notes from them about how they train.”

Phillips also reflected on the moment he received the call from the England boss, conceding he was lost for words when he found out about his inclusion.

“I didn’t expect the call-up at all,” Phillips reflected.

“My agent rang me the night before Gareth Southgate was announcing the squad and he just said there’s someone who wants to ring you in the morning.

“He didn’t tell me who it was! I couldn’t sleep – I was up all night.

“When I was on the way into training I got a phone call and I didn’t know who it was because I didn’t have his number.

“So I answered and said: ‘Hello?’

“The reply said: ‘Hi, it’s Gareth Southgate...’

“I just went quiet for five seconds. He was just asking me how I was and he told me that he wanted to include me in the squad.

“Obviously I was over the moon and didn’t really know what to say. As soon as I put the phone down I was just screaming at the top of my voice!”