If the player once dubbed the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ thought returning to the county where he earned the nickname could inspire an immediate upturn in his fortunes, then he will have to wait.
It is just over three years since Kalvin Phillips was part of the England squad at the last World Cup.
Yet as the next instalment of football’s biggest event draws near, the midfielder finds himself back in the Championship looking to salvage a career that began to suffer after he joined Manchester City in the summer of 2022.
The latest loan move for the 30-year-old Phillips, after stints at West Ham United and Ipswich Town, is at Yorkshire side Sheffield United — not too far from the club where he made his name: Leeds United.
However, what had been a positive start to life at Bramall Lane following his arrival this month was turned on its head against Sheffield Wednesday in the derby on Sunday.
Sheffield United were cruising at 2-0 and on their way to confirming their neighbours’ relegation when former Leeds man Phillips recklessly left a boot high on Wednesday’s Svante Ingelsson in the 49th minute. He was sent off.
Kalvin Phillips and his manager, Chris Wilder, after the dismissal (Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)
Phillips walked off with his arms outstretched, as if saying, ‘How is that a red card?’ Well, it certainly was one, and Phillips was left in the Bramall Lane dressing room afterwards, with former Manchester City and England team-mate Kyle Walker (who now plays for Burnley) offering words of support. The ex-Sheffield United defender had attended the game.
Phillips’ dismissal didn’t dampen the day for Sheffield United supporters, though. Manchester United academy graduate Charlie McNeill did pull one back for Wednesday after the red card, but the crisis-ridden club could not turn the game around after Patrick Bamford and Harrison Burrows had put Sheffield United in control in the first half.
Sheffield Wednesday remain on minus seven points and were relegated by this result, at the home of their bitter rivals, no less.
The home fans could not contain their delight as they chanted, “Wednesday’s going down” before the PA belted out U2’s Beautiful Day. For Phillips, though, it was not such a joyous occasion.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen him not smile because he’s been smiling for the last two weeks,” said Sheffield United head coach Chris Wilder. “So, that’s disappointing for him getting (trying to get) into a rhythm because you see the quality that he possesses.
“Kyle Walker’s down in the changing room with him. Rhian Brewster is down in the changing room. That’s the type of club that we are. They love him to bits, we love him to bits. I’m disappointed.”
The red card came after a solid display from the midfielder Manchester City spent £45million ($61m) on three and a half years ago. It was a performance you want from a defensive midfielder. He completed 26 of his 29 passes and made five defensive contributions.
Before this game, he had just 120 minutes under his belt this season, with 113 of those in the past fortnight against Middlesbrough and Portsmouth. This comes after an Achilles tendon problem curtailed the amount of football he played towards the end of the last campaign and disrupted his pre-season.
This was a loan move designed to reinvigorate a player whose career has become stuck. City are open to permanent offers this summer, with two years left on Phillips’ contract come June, but due to suspension, his opportunity to prove himself to potential suitors is limited to three fewer games.
Phillips had been a crucial member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad at Euro 2020 in 2021 and started every game as they went all the way to the final. They did not lift the trophy, but Phillips’ influence was rewarded with the England Player of the Year award in 2021.
It was that, along with his impressive performances for boyhood club Leeds, which made him a target for City. The Leeds fans sang about their Yorkshire Pirlo with a touch of humour in comparing the player to the Italian great Andrea, but also because of how highly they thought of him.
Phillips made the move to City in the summer of 2022, but niggling injuries — a constant theme of his time at the Etihad Stadium — ensured it wasn’t an easy start as he tried to adapt to Pep Guardiola’s demands.
When he went to the World Cup with England that winter, he had not started a game for City. Guardiola criticised Phillips for coming back from the tournament in Qatar ‘overweight’ following a holiday. The Catalan would later apologise, but it always seemed like a long road back for the player, who has played just 32 games for the club across nearly four years.
Phillips didn’t start a Premier League game in the following season for City, which prompted a loan move to West Ham halfway through the campaign. Yet that would only bring three starts in the league.
His time at Ipswich was slightly better, as he started 14 league games, but the club were relegated and he was again troubled by injuries.
Phillips playing in the Euro 2020 final for England (Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
It looked like Guardiola threw a lifeline when Phillips was included in City’s Premier League 25-man squad this season.
But his only appearance was a seven-minute cameo against Huddersfield Town in the Carabao Cup in September. The player darted back from London on the day of the game after his partner had given birth to their second child.
Despite the struggles at City, he remains a well-liked character at the training ground. In the last few weeks before his loan move to Sheffield United, he did not always train with the first team, but this is believed to be down to niggling injuries rather than simply being omitted.
There was Premier League interest in January for a loan move, but a text from former Leeds team-mate Bamford played a pivotal part in him opting to drop down to the Championship and join Sheffield United, as he stated in a recent interview with Sky Sports.
Another reason was that Championship teams play more league games, providing more opportunities for game time.
But instead of facing Coventry City, Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion in the coming weeks, Phillips will be put through some extra physical work to get him up to pace. Wilder remains confident he can be a crucial player for his club in the coming months.
“He’s here to enjoy his football,” the manager added yesterday after the win, which saw Sheffield United move up to 14th. “My first meeting with him, I thanked him for coming and playing a part, which he will do, and helping us win games of football.
“For the first time, we’ve seen him a little bit down, but he’ll get over it. We’ll get through this little period. We’ll put a little bit of work into him from a physical point of view, and he’ll be OK.”