Kalvin Phillips has recently completed a £45 million move to Manchester City. The former Leeds man, nicknamed the Yorkshire Pirlo, has attracted a lot of interest from English clubs due to his superb performances for Leeds United and England.
Phillips joined Leeds United in 2014 and played over 200 league games for them. He particularly excelled in the Championship winning season in 2019/20 - helping Leeds secure 93 points en route to the Premier League.
Phillips was also named England Men’s Player of the Year in 2021 as he anchored the national team’s midfield and produced several world-class performances during England’s march to the final. Seen by some as a highly underrated footballer, Phillips’ profile has grown over the last 12 months and a move to a Big-Six club looked increasingly likely.
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Beckenbaeur Similarities
In Phillips, City have a world-class midfielder and one that will surely go down as one of the greatest of all time. A Euros finalist and soon-to-be World Cup winner, Kalvin Phillips is, in my book, the new Franz Beckenbaeur.
I see a lot of similarities in their style of play and attitude, though Franz played in a league very much inferior to the one Phillips plays in. The Manchester City transfer probably served as music to Gareth Southgate’s ears, as at last his trusty holding midfielder can test himself on the biggest stages and in the biggest games.
A Remedy For Midfield Failings
City’s other major transfer is the young and unproven Eerling Haaland - a player whose abilities in under the bright lights of the Premier League are unknown. One thing’s for certain, though - the Norwegian will find relief in knowing that the City midfield is under patrol by Phillips’s men.
Pep Guardiola’s side can’t really get much better as they’ve won three out of the last four league titles, but the arrival of the Yorkshire Pirlo will certainly take them to the next level in Europe.
The Champions League remains elusive for the Sky Blues, however. They were seconds away from progressing to the final before Real Madrid completed a sensational turnaround and some said that City’s heartbreaking exit was due to a loss of control in midfield. The signing of Phillips will surely remedy these issues and finally turn City into the European juggernaut we all know they can be.
Great News For The National Team
I applaud Pep Guardiola’s decision to sign English players as we all know what magic the manager is known for and the length he goes to when it comes to improving his players. Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, and John Stones have all had their moments in the sun under the manager and I’m certain Phillips will be no different.
The midfielder’s arrival is also good news for the national team. With an almost-guaranteed victory in Qatar only a few months away, England will surely benefit from having a squad composed almost entirely of top-six players. When the season restarts again in December, the heroic England players can refocus on competing in the race for the Premier League title.
Kalvin Phillips arrives at the Etihad a player full of promise and he’ll surely leave as a legend. The Etihad’s statues of Vincent Kompany, David Silva, and Sergio Aguero will probably be joined by one of Phillips once his tenure at the club concludes.
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