Kalvin Phillips England call-up increases pressure on Leeds to stay up – TBR View

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Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips got a deserved England call-up this week, as Gareth Southgate finally decided to give the Whites star his chance.

Phillips’ performances for Marcelo Bielsa’s men were nothing short of outstanding last season. In fact, he has been brilliant for nearly two years now, driving his team back to the ‘promised land’.

But with Premier League football now back at Elland Road and eyes firmly fixed on how the Yorkshire outfit will do, has Phillips’ England call piled a bit more pressure on the club in general?

There’s certainly an argument to suggest that and there are reasons you can put forward as to why the pressure is now on for Leeds.

England call is big news, Phillips will want more of it

The likelihood with this is that it won’t be the first time we see Phillips given the nod by Gareth Southgate for the Three Lions. If the Leeds man maintains his performance levels then he should be a certainty.

However, as with any promoted team, there is no guarantee that Leeds will stay up beyond this year. The first year back can be a tough slog, especially if one or two things start to go against you.

And Phillips being in the England squad could well be something that sits in the back of the mind for the player and club. In terms of Phillips, he’ll know he needs Premier League football to keep his England place. For the club, they’ll know the vultures will be on to him quickly if relegation is a possibility or, at worse, happens.

The likes of Liverpool are already said to have cast a keen eye over Phillips, while he’ll be in the limelight even more so now.

Of course, Leeds may well stay up comfortably with Phillips as the driving force. But Whites fans will be hoping talk of relegation is not a hot topic and they can keep their man for the long-term, all the while keeping Phillips’ England ambitions alive.