Why Leeds United must treasure special talent and future captain Kalvin Phillips - Dominic Matteo

Former Leeds United player and fan favourite Dominic Matteo pens his latest thoughts on what's going on at Elland Road.
Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips. Pic: GettyLeeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips. Pic: Getty
Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips. Pic: Getty

I’ve been deliberating over what to write about in this week’s column.

There is so much to be positive about at Leeds United at the moment - let’s not get bogged down in those wanting to talk about Marcelo Bielsa’s style - but I finally settled on a topic that I think we all can enjoy.

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Kalvin Phillips has impressed me so much - not only this season - but in the last few years with the way he has jumped up a level. He’s an outstanding young player and that includes the way he conducts himself off the pitch as well. I’ve done some charity things and he is always the one there leading the fight and helping give voices to those in our community who need help the most.

When you’re a local lad - I don’t know why - but I always feel like those players have a little bit more of a responsibility to everyone. I was the same when I played for Liverpool at the start of my career.

It’s the pressure that you put on yourself in representing where you’re from and it just seems to mean that little bit more.

When you see Kalvin you can tell just how desperate he is to do well for Leeds. He’ll no doubt be the captain of our great club one day.

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He has an old head on young shoulders for a man who has just turned 25. There’s no moaning from him, he just gets on with whatever he is asked to do and he has had to learn some things the hard way under Marcelo since he came in.

You think about how tough it must’ve been to be subbed off against Manchester United but then he bounces back with a stunning performance a week later.

That is something you cannot teach. You can certainly tell people that you’ll get criticism and that you’ll have low and high points, but to shake it off is a special attribute. There will always be a lot of outside noise in the aftermath of games, especially when they don’t go as planned, and that has only increased now he’s in the top flight and fighting for a place with England.

Players deal with it in different ways, some don’t bother reading any of what the press writes and others read it all - it entirely depends on who you are.

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I knew players who used it as fuel to go out and prove the doubters wrong and others who just brushed it off as part of the job. I imagine with the way social media is now it is even harder to switch off and reset.

He’s always improving and has that hunger to get better. People might disagree but I think he’s the main man at Leeds and he really thrives on that. Kalvin is always the one who stands out as the heartbeat of the team.

The position that Kalvin plays is probably the most important for a lot of football teams now due to how attacking the game has gone. You look at those around him in the Premier League who have won things.

N’Golo Kante at Chelsea, Fabinho and Thiago at Liverpool and Fernandinho at Manchester City - he is in that mold of player. I honestly believe he has the ability to be that good.

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For me, the biggest thing is how calm he is on the ball. Any top player I played with always seemed to have time on the ball and that is the biggest compliment I can give him.

It’s obvious to say and, to an extent, it has already happened but Leeds really do need to be making sure they build around him for the next five years or so. I can only give my view, but the way he can switch between being a defensive midfielder and central defender is equally as impressive as anything else he does.

The roles are similar, yes, but at the same time they are very different.

In one you are there to protect and you can be a bit more committed, while the other is more focused around your positional play because, if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, the striker is gone and he’s in on goal.

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When I moved between both in my career that is something I really had to work on a lot but he is very good at it already for someone so young.

I found that I was much better in the latter stages of my playing days due to the fact I’d had a lot of experience and learnt from my mistakes. He can adapt to both sides very easily and it is priceless because that is an element of the game that is difficult to teach on the training ground.

Kalvin isn’t yet the complete package; we all know that. He’ll have tough days, like at Old Trafford, but it’s all about learning from those experiences and using them to drive you on to improve and get better.

He is a brilliant example to any young player to keep believing in what you’re doing - it must be so inspiring for those learning their trade at Thorp Arch. I would think he has the biggest influence on those in the academy. He is the example that Leeds will point to and say ‘that could be you’.

We should treasure him because I honestly think he has the ability to drive this club to where it wants to be in the years to come.

Dominic Matteo's column, in association with Data Facilities