Gary Neville makes controversial Kalvin Phillips claim after England display v Denmark
Leeds United midfield maestro Kalvin Phillips earned his fourth England cap on Wednesday night but it was a calamitous game at Wembley.
England lost 1-0 and saw Harry Maguire and Reece James sent off, the latter after the final whistle. James became the first England player to be sent off in his first start for his country – not the record he would have been looking to make.
Phillips had to keep his head while everyone around him seemed to be losing theirs and he did a fine job, with Sky Sports giving him a 6/10 rating. Only three England players scored higher.
His stats from the game also make for good reading.
It all adds to his learning but during the live coverage, Gary Neville made a contentious claim that Leeds fans will hate.
He said, “What a learning curve for Kalvin Phillips. He’s probably learnt more in the last four-to-six weeks than he has done in the last four-to-six years.”
Back of the class for Neville
Neville is a fantastic pundit but it’s his job to do his homework and make sure he gets things right.
If he had genned up on Phillips properly he would know what a transformation the player has made under Marcelo Bielsa.
He’s been turned from a decent midfielder, who scored seven goals in the 17/18 Championship, into the country’s best holding mid.
We might be biased but he’s quickly becoming a regular starter in that position for England.
Bielsa saw his potential, changed his game and made him the player that he is today.
Sure, he will be learning all the time – great players never stop improving – and playing for England will add more to his game.
But to suggest he’s learned more in the last four-to-six weeks than he has in six years is ridiculous – and frankly insulting to Bielsa.
And there were plenty of Leeds fans who thought exactly the same as us.
Football doesn’t exist outside of the Premier League for a lot of pundits, we get that. But we expected better from Neville.
In other Leeds United news, ‘Most underrated player in the world; On fire’ – Many fans blown away by Leeds ace int’l display