Marcelo Bielsa suggests Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips deserved England chance

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Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has suggested to the Yorkshire Evening Post during his pre-Middlesbrough press conference that Kalvin Phillips is deserving of an England call-up.

The Daily Mail has previously claimed that boss Gareth Southgate had been casting an eye towards the Leeds midfielder ahead of Euro 2020.

Phillips has been instrumental in the club’s push towards promotion and looks destined to star in the Premier League.

The Sun had linked Phillips with a £20 million move to Sheffield United, although if Leeds get promoted that looks like an impossible transfer for the Blades.

It would also seem that the academy graduate won’t be going for anything near as low as £20 million and an England cap would further increase his valuation.

Biela believes it would be a proud moment for the club, although hinted that he won’t talk about it in depth until it’s confirmed by Southgate.

He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “It is something that Leeds and the club deserve and we have to be proud of this.

“If that happens it’s not easy to get and for that reason, you really have to be proud.”

He then went onto ask if the information was official and when advised he wanted he declined to comment further.

Bielsa continued: “I worked as national team manager in Argentina and Chile and I didn’t like that other managers said in the press which players should be in the team so I don’t want to make that same mistake.”

Progression

Phillips has made 174 appearances for the Whites having graduated through the club’s academy ranks.

He is a vitally important component of Bielsa’s team and he will hope that his current calf injury clears up in time to face Middlesbrough tomorrow.

An England call-up would be intriguing. It is pretty rare to see Southgate dip into the Championship for players but it would highlight how much quality Leeds have.

The England boss might just choose to have a look at him during training with his team first.

If Leeds win promotion, however, the 24-year-old has the potential to become a future England regular.