Stephen Warnock hails Kalvin Phillips and puts him ahead of Declan Rice for England

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Stephen Warnock believes Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips may have moved ahead of Declan Rice in the pecking order for England.

The midfielder was superb at the weekend for the Whites against Everton, playing a crucial role in the 1-0 win.

Phillips ran the show, completing 78/84 passes and making two interceptions and two tackles according to Sofascore.

His performance has drawn praise from Warnock, who was analysing the weekend action from the Premier League on Sky Sports News on Monday morning.

He said at 11.09am: “It was probably his best performance in a Leeds shirt in the Premier League. I think he was outstanding from start to finish.”

The former full-back was wowed by Phillips’ control of the game and the quality of his passing.

He stated that Gareth Southgate would have been pleased with his showing and when asked if he is ahead of West Ham star Declan Rice, he said: “Personally I think he is. I think the quality he shows, his ability to start attacks and his understanding of the game and breaking up play, I think he has a better passing range than Declan Rice.

“I don’t think Rice doesn’t have it, I just don’t think he has the confidence to do it at times.”

TBR’s View – Phillips’ England prospects look good

Phillips was excellent against Everton, and generally he’s been really good for Leeds this season.

He looks very comfortable at Premier League level, and his prospects for the national team look good.

Southgate is a big admirer of £60,000-a-week star Rice (Daily Mail), but if Phillips continues in this fashion he is going to give the Three Lions boss a headache going into next summer’s European Championships.