An utterly iconic player in the deep-rooted history of Leeds United, and one of the greatest players to grace the grass of Elland Road, Kalvin Phillips’ bizarre nose dive from English footballs pinnacle has had the footballing world scratching its head over the course of the last 3 seasons.
A respected England international, with 31 caps for the Three Lions since his debut against Denmark in September of 2020, ‘The Yorkshire Pirlo’, as he was dubbed across Leeds, seemingly had the world at his feet. An eye watering £45 million transfer in 2022 landed him at Europeans most favourable dynasty, in Man City, as generational tactician Pep Guardiola brought him across the Pennines in a move which shattered the fans of his boyhood side.
Winning an unbelievable continental treble in his debut season, he donned the no.4 shirt for the Citizens, previously on the back of Premier League legend Vincent Kompany, but Phillips’ time on the blue side of Manchester has left a lot to be desired. What is the next step for Kalvin Phillips, to reignite the fire in ‘The Yorkshire Pirlo’?
At the time of writing, Leeds United sit close to the summit of the Sky Bet Championship, as neighbours Sheffield United are in pursuit of the title, sitting 2 points clear at the top of the tale after a 3-0 victory over Frank Lampard’s high-flying Coventry. An integral part of Leeds’s promotion to the Premier League, Kalvin Phillips was a key figure during Marcelo Bielsa’s tenure, as the tactical implementations that were personally given to Kalvin evidently enhanced him as a player, directly improving his versatility and got clubs across the globes watching quietly, something Marcelo would know all about! After being handed his debut by Neil Redfearn in April 2015, he marked this occasion with a goal, scoring in a 2-1 defeat to Cardiff as he was rewarded with a new two-year deal in the summer, a time period in which Neil Redfearn was sacked.
The following season he would be under further managerial switches, as he played just 10 league fixtures under ex- Manchester City forward Uwe Rosler and infamous Scottish boss Steve Evans. In the 2016/17 campaign, new Leeds gaffer Gary Monk gave Kalvin significant game time, as he went onto play 40 games in all competitions that year to accompany the improved 3-year deal, he was given in the summer.
The following season would be his best statistically to date, featuring 43 times, scoring on 7 occasions and assisting 3. Argentinian Marcelo Bielsa arrived in June 2018, replacing the departing, Paul Heckingbottom. Marcelo would go onto win his first 3 games in charge, the first Leeds boss to do so since 1974, and the first in the club’s history to win four consecutive games. He would go on to make it 6 unbeaten and win the EFL Championship manager of the month award for August 2018, this was the start of an incredible reign at Elland Road.
Marcelo truly brought the best out of Kalvin during his tenure, operating him across multiple positions, including central defender in a back three and apart of the defence in the back four, whilst also having him playing as part of a 5 back in transition in a 4-1-4-1, a formation which allows Kalvin to sit in front of the defence but also roam into a packed midfield when in attacking sequences. As promotion winning captain Liam Cooper returned to the fray, Kalvin re-adopted his natural holding midfielder role, finishing Bielsa’s first Leeds United campaign with 46 games in all competitions, with a EFL Championship team of the season spot with his efforts, alongside a 3rd place finish.
Leeds, as some may say characteristically, fell in the play-offs after an incredible campaign in which they looked destined for a return to top flight football, as a tactical masterclass from Frank Lampard saw his Derby County side win 4-3 on aggregate, eventually losing to Aston Villa in the final, having the final word in his famous feud with Marcelo.
The following season, Kalvin’s performances in the Championship were plauded by England manager Gareth Southgate, where calls were made by fans to implement him into the upcoming Euro 2020. However, the Euros and the EFL campaign was cut short due to the pandemic. However, a 1-0 victory over Barnsley was enough to secure Leeds’s promotion to the Premier League when football was resumed in June, but Kalvin would not play a part, as a week after the season recommenced, his season was cut short. Despite this, he would find places in The Guardians and the PFA’s Championship 2019/20 season.
Making his premier league debut in a valiant display against reigning champions Liverpool, where the club were narrowly defeated 4-3, he would play 49 games across 2 seasons for Leeds in the Premier League, reaching his 200th game for the club against Crystal Palace in February of 2021. Form would drop for both Kalvin Phillips and Leeds, as Bielsa was sacked a year later and replaced by Jesse Marsch, who despite his best efforts, was unable to prevent the club’s relegation, subsequently prompted ‘the Yorkshire Pirlo’s’ departure from Elland Road.
After featuring in the delayed Euro 2020 tournament the season prior whilst still contracted to his boyhood club, Pep Guardiola was an admirer of his calibre in being a powerhouse towards Leeds’s rise in English football, bringing him to the Etihad Stadium for a whopping 45 million pounds including add-ons, a club record fee which would be broken 15 days later by the departure of Brazilian winger Raphinia to FC Barcelona.
Kalvin Phillips’ made his Man City debut alongside Erling Haaland in a 2-0 win over West Ham on the opening day, replacing Ballon D’or winner Rodri. Things began to crumble for Kalvin, as he suffered a series of injuries and underwent a surgery on his shoulder in September, before travelling to Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, making two substitute appearances and getting an assist as England crashed out to France in the semi-finals. Follow this global domestic league break, Pep Guardiola harshly made comments to the media that Kalvin had returned to training ‘unfit’ and ‘overweight’. He made 21 appearances in his first season for the ‘Citizens’, but 17 of his 21 games came from off the bench.
He played just 4 times for Man City in the league the following season, and joined West Ham United on loan in January 2024 for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign. This sadly would be an absolutely calamitous loan spell for everyone involved, in every department on and off the pitch. He managed just 3 league starts for West Ham, making an abundance of mistakes, notably against Bournemouth on debut, virtually his first touch in claret and blue a misplaced pass finding Dominic Solanke as the Irons drew 1-1 to send them gradually progressing down the league table after European glory not long before. He featured in the clubs biggest ever Premier League defeat as they were swept aside by title chasing Arsenal 6-0, and was even sent off the following week, with 2 yellow cards in a 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
His penultimate game was the worst yet, after coming on as substitute against Newcastle, his side 3-1 up at the time, Kalvin Phillips immediately gave away a penalty, as West Ham went onto lose 4-3. Subject to fans berating him at the full-time whistle, Phillips’ was recorded sticking his middle finger up at the West Ham supporters, and would play his final game for the club in a horrendous 5-2 away defeat to Crystal Palace, playing just under 20 minutes. West Ham media channels such as Hammers News and West Ham Fan TV, labelled his time at the club ‘disgraceful’, even West Ham coaches came out in the media and reported that they were ‘‘shocked at both his attitude and performances’’ and that he had “seemingly lost his interest to play top flight football”.
At the start of the 2024/25 campaign, he joined 1981 UEFA Cup winners and newly promoted Ipswich Town on loan ahead of the new Premier League season. In October, also speaking on his time at West Ham, he told the BBC that he was ‘Loving Football’ under boss Kieran McKenna. Shortly after, he ironically made a mistake against West Ham resulting in a Michail Antonio goal in a hefty defeat against the Irons. To date, Kalvin has had an average time with the Tractor Boys, playing 20 times whilst on loan, 17 in the Premier League, with his only goal coming in an FA Cup tie against Bristol Rovers. As we enter the final few weeks of the current season, rumours have sparked up about a potential return to Elland Road, but is this the right move for all parties?
Not many players in the Premier League can really class themselves as out and out defensive midfielders, but he is one of them. On his day, Kalvin Phillips is a midfield engine, a player who operates well in the pocket and can work extremely well offering cover to a back 4. He can dictate games with short passing and can control the tempo of a game and play huge parts in both an attacking and defensive areas. Midfielders having lots of the ball, and in Phillips’ case, low confidence, mistakes can come often, especially coming from passes or poor passages of play when in transition, they can be targeted and often scrutinised.
You cannot take away the career of Kalvin Phillips, 31 caps in just over 5 years as an England international, a UEFA Champions League Winner, a Premier League Champion and someone who has played at both the FIFA World Cup and the European Championships for his nation, his pedigree is not something that should go unnoticed and would be an unbelievable CV to take to a Championship side. But of course, the level of performance that Kalvin has shown since adapting to this evidently demanding standard of the game is something that needs to be taken into consideration, as the level of the sport continues to develop in an unprecedented and rapid manor.
Turning 30 this year, the transfer is one that coexists with many debatable factors, age being an important one. Whilst Leeds currently sit in the English Football League, a return to England’s pinnacle looks set in stone, meaning if Kalvin was to return to Leeds United, he would again have to prove himself back in the Premier League under a new style of play and is unable to drop down the league system in order to regain confidence.
Kalvin Phillips calls Leeds his home, and in my opinion, it’s a last roll of the dice for him to continue to play football at this level. But this is the side for his confidence to return, under fans which adored him in yesteryears and saw him play over 200 games for their club. However, from a Leeds perspective and a business perspective, excitement on a potential return for a club legend must be parked. With the prize money that comes in for promotion from the Premier League, money could be invested in a younger, more eager and exciting player than Kalvin.
From an outside perspective, it is a transfer in which it provides more sentimental value as opposed to a transfer which offers quality. In a midfield arsenal which already has the likes of Ao Tanaka, Joe Rothwell, Brendon Aaronson and Ethan Ampadu, it is a move which systematically offers minimal value for Leeds United. This would be a transfer simply based on sentimental purposes, as Kalvin would join a team in which despite his plethora of games for Leeds, his calibre and international stature, would become surplus to requirement, when at this stage of his career, consistent game time and confidence is absolutely paramount to progression.
If Daniel Farke is willing to offer a modern-day football club hero in Kalvin one last dance of senior top flight football, it could be a sensational story for him, as ‘The Yorkshire Pirlo’ looks to replicate the form at his boyhood club, which gave him the platform to achieve some unbelievable feats, which fans could only dream of experiencing.
