Manchester City star dubs Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips the ‘toughest’ England squad member amid votes for Chelsea man

Foden has given the Leeds United star his vote for toughest member of the England squad, believing the midfielder is this generation's hard man.

BT Sport quizzed Gareth Southgate’s players on which of their teammates came out on top for certain traits, including who is the most funny and the hardest worker.

Some of the categories split opinion more than others - with Phillips himself scratching around for an answer to ‘most intelligent’ - but the lion’s share of players were agreed that Reece James was the toughest among them, with Ollie Watkins, Jordan Henderson, Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount and James himself voting for the Chelsea player.

Foden, though, went against the majority, looking thoughtful when asked before answering “Kalvin Phillips” with confidence.

Phillips became adored by England fans this summer when his no-nonsense cleaning up in the middle of the park played a crucial role in the team’s journey to the EURO 2020 final.

The 25-year-old was unable to join up with Southgate’s squad for the latest round of World Cup qualifiers and, by many fans’ accounts, he was sorely missed in England’s lacklustre performance against Hungary on Tuesday night.

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