There can be little doubt that Marcelo Bielsa, in just one short year, has reinvented Leeds United and what they stand for. He’s come in, taken stock and turned a 13th place team to one that flirted with promotion for all the season – never dropping lower than 4th place.
As well as bringing both an ethos and a style of football that gave fans much hope, he also reinvented and resurrected players who’d flagged badly under the previous management regimes at Elland Road. One of those was Kalvin Phillips.
Such was Phillips’ level of displays under Thomas Christiansen and Paul Heckingbottom, that some fans were calling for him to be sold. He’d gone from being lauded in 2016/17 to being criticised in 2017/18 DESPITE an output of seven goals and three assists.
Yet, under Marcelo Bielsa’s hand, Kalvin Phillips was changed to such a degree that he’d been turned into the kind of player who earns that clichéd title of ‘mainstay’ or ‘lynchpin’ due to their importance to the side. That’s what Marcelo Bielsa has done, turned Kalvin Phillips into a ‘first name on the teamsheet’ player.
It has also brought a degree of attention, with Aston Villa said to be readying a £14m bid for the defensive midfielder-cum-centreback. That level of interest is to be, on reflection, expected based on the level of consistency that Kalvin Phillips has operated at the season just gone. It is interest that is now raising concerns in Leeds United fans, fans who realise the Leeds-born midfielder’s importance to Bielsa’s set-up.
However, Leeds United commentator Noel Whelan, writing for Football Insider, has said something that will give Whites fans a little hope – perhaps. Stating that he’s spoken to Kalvin’s agent, Whelan goes on to say: “I know Kalvin is deperate to stay at Leeds” before adding that Phillips’ agent revealed “he’d [Kalvin Phillips] love to stay at the club. There’s no hiding that.”
Whilst desire to stay at the club needs to be balanced out with ambition to play at a higher level, Whelan gives two very pointed remarks that he thinks the club need to do to make sure desire doesn’t play second fiddle to ambition in this case. He says: “The club need to put their money where their mouth is. I have no doubt Marcelo Bielsa wants Kalvin Phillips at the club, and they need to show him that he is wanted by the club.”
Desperate or not to stay, that’s immaterial in a way. What is more important is that the club recognise Kalvin Phillips’ importance as a player to continue to build a syatem around.
