Kalvin Phillips is apparently ‘missing Leeds’ following his move over the summer.
Leeds manager Jesse Marsch belives his former player Kalvin Phillips misses the team after his new boss Pep Guardiola admitted he wasn’t pleased with how the midfielder returned to Manchester City following the Qatar World Cup. Phillips managed just 40 minutes for England in the tournament prior to their quarter-final exit at the hands of France.
Phillips left Leeds over the summer after eight successful years at the club, where he helped the Whites to promotion back to the Premier League and then ensured they remained in the top flight. City paid £42million for his services in order to provide depth in the centre of the park and soften the departure of club legend Fernandinho.
Yet Phillips is yet to prove his worth at the Etihad Stadium due to injuries that have kept him sidelined. The 27-year-old was a major doubt for England and only featured as a substitute, and Guardiola was not entirely pleased with his player’s return to fitness and accused him of being overweight.
Speaking last week, the Spaniard said: “He’s not injured. He arrived overweight. I don’t know [why]. He didn’t arrive in the condition to do training sessions and to play. That’s why he cannot play. When he will be ready, he will play, because we need him, we need him a lot.”
The comments will certainly damage the confidence of Phillips, who may have felt he was in the frame to add to his four appearances for City over the coming weeks. However, he has received rave reviews from his former boss Marsch to soften the blow, who admitted he feels the midfielder ‘misses’ playing for Leeds.
The Whites boss commented on the character and quality of Phillips, saying: “We still miss Kalvin. He came for one of our matches, Fulham, and you could see he felt the pain of losing that match with us after the match. He missed being here. Of course, he misses being here, he misses the guys, he’s got a lot of great friends here, this club is in his heart.
“Kalvin was such a good player, but for me, he was a really likeable, heart-warming person to have around the team. He got along with everybody here, with the older players, as well as the younger players, with me as well as the academy coaches. If you were to ask me what was the hardest part of replacing Kalvin, it was a little bit of that – making sure that we still had the feeling of what Leeds United is, what it means to be from Leeds, what the history of the club means.”
Leeds take on City at Elland Road on Wednesday night, where all eyes will be on the team sheet to see whether Phillips even warms the bench at his former ‘home’. How the midfielder reacts to the criticism of his manager could be the making of him at the club, especially if further depth arrives in the January transfer window.
SOURCE: express.co.uk
