KALVIN PHILLIPS, THE YORKSHIRE PIRLO KEEPING LEEDS IN TITLE HUNT
Home-town hero Kalvin Phillips is the smiling assassin driving Leeds to the Premier League
KALVIN joined us as an eightyear-old and when I see him now, he’s just how he was as a kid,’ says Ian Thackray, Kalvin Phillips’ manager at Leeds amateur club Wortley Juniors. ‘He always had that lovely smile and wasn’t aggressive at all, which is quite different to how he is as a player.’
Thackray’s take on the imposing midfielder, who grew up dreaming of playing for Leeds United in the Premier League, feels about right.
For behind the smile lies a talented, tenacious and highly- driven player whose rise from humble beginnings in west Leeds would not look out of place in a Roy of the Rovers comic-book story.
Affectionately nick named the ‘ Yorkshire Pirlo’ by fans, Phillips is Leeds’ own Steven Gerrard or Wayne Rooney; a local lad living the dream at his home-town club.
There is a certain romance to that and, as Leeds resume their bid to end a 16year exile from the top flight at Cardiff today, Phillips appears ready to make the step up. He has never represented England at any level but has thrived under Marcelo Bielsa’s meticulous guidance since the Argentinian’s appointment in the summer of 2018.
After analysing all 51 Leeds games from the previous season before he landed in West Yorkshire, Bielsa decided to build his team around Phillips as the defensive midfield fulcrum.
Gareth Southgate watched the 24-yearold at Elland Road earlier this year and was set to pick him for friendlies against Italy and Denmark before they were postponed due to coronavirus.
The England boss last week named Phillips and Leeds team-mate Ben White — on loan from Brighton — as possible inclusions for next year’s European Championship.
Noted for the kind of ferocious tackling that Billy Bremner and David Batty brought to Leeds, Phillips has been booked 29 times and sent off twice in the past three seasons but his defensive qualities and wide passing range have earned Southgate’s admiration.
Thackray recalls: ‘Kalvin played for Wortley for six years and was very strong, despite not being the tallest. We played in the Garforth League and Kalvin became the main man as a box-to-box player. When he was 12 or 13, he started to stand out and we had an 11-a-side tournament in Blackpool which Kalvin won for us all on his own.
‘He was so determined to win but at the same time was a down-toearth kid who loved playing football with his mates. Kalvin’s not a nasty person on the pitch but he used to tackle the opposition as if he was trying to kill them! I’m a season-ticket holder at Leeds and can still see that competitive streak in him. He doesn’t hold back.’
Phillips was poached from Wortley by rivals Farsley Celtic and had a brief spell there before joining Leeds’ vaunted academy in 2010.
Scouts from a host of Yorkshire and north-east clubs watched him and he spent time at Huddersfield Town. But once he was offered a chance at the club he grew up supporting, ti the th script i t was written, itt much to the delight of his Leedssupporting family. Born to a white mother and black father, Phillips was a triplet, one of whom died at an early age, and has a tattoo inscribed on his arm in her memory. He is close to twin sister Deren, younger siblings Terrell and Tasiana and his grandma. Phillips’ bond with mother Lindsay Crosby is especially strong and he often posts on social media about his love for girlfriend Ashleigh Behan.
Former Leeds boss Neil Redfearn gave Phillips his first-team debut at Wolves in April 2015, having nurtured him in the academy.
‘Kalvin was among a good group with Lewis Cook, Alex Mowatt, Charlie Taylor and Sam Byram,’ says Redfearn. ‘ Lucy Ward, my partner, was head of education and welfare and helped teach these guys the importance of being good human beings. But with Kalvin you go back to how his mum brought him up and how he interacted with his siblings. It’s just a really good story to see him where he is now.
‘What he has done under Bielsa is take his game to another level. It would have been interesting to see how the other lads he was in the academy with would have fared under Bielsa too. Kalvin cracked on and matured perfectly at the right time. He deserves a chance for England and is certainly ready to play in the Premier League.’
Phillips has been a prime beneficiary of Bielsa’s tough training regime and the chocolate cakes he once enjoyed are a thing of the past.
Fellow academy graduate and current Barnsley captain Mowatt, who remains close to Phillips, says: ‘The season before Bielsa arrived, Kalvin played further forward and scored quite a few goals. But playing in front of the back four allows him to break things up and show his quality on the ball. Everyone knows he enjoys a tackle, he doesn’t get enough credit for how good he is technically. There are players like Declan Rice and Harry Winks, but I think Kalvin’s style would actually suit England. He’s definitely good enough.’
Michael Normanton o f The Square Ball fanzine says few, if any, Leeds supporters saw Phillips emerging as such an influential figure. Criticised by a section of fans in his first few seasons, he has won over his doubters.
Normanton says: ‘ Under other managers he might have drifted out of the club for a couple of million quid. Bielsa, though, put trust in him and he’s repaid that faith.’
Life still had its challenges and Phillips has spoken of racist abuse his family and friends suffered.
Thackray adds: ‘The areas we are from, Bramley and Wortley, are tough places but football gave kids a focus. Kalvin was with his brother Terrell all the time. If somebody clobbered Terrell during a game, Kalvin would be straight in to back him up. There were times I’d say ‘‘let Terrell fight his own battles’’ but he was a tricky little winger and smaller than Kalvin.
‘To see where Kalvin is now is incredible. I’m so proud. He’s never lost touch with his roots.’
When Phillips signed a new fiveyear deal last summer, he was, typically, flanked by his family.
After putting pen to paper, he said: ‘Every single day, I go home to my girlfriend, see my mum and grandma, and I always talk about football. It’s what I live for, it’s what I do, and they have always supported me 100 per cent. I don’t think I’d be here right now if it wasn’t for my mum and grandma.
‘I don’t think I’m lucky to get here because I’ve worked hard and sacrificed so much. I feel like I’m getting what I deserve and my family feel that as well.’
Phillips has made 175 appearances for Leeds and Terrell says: ‘Kalvin has not changed at all since we were kids, he’s just the same guy. To help Leeds get promoted and then play for England would be a dream come true for Kalvin and our whole family.’