Of all the names that shone during the Marcelo Bielsa era at Leeds United, one has endured a fall from grace much more mighty than most, and things certainly aren’t getting any easier for him this season.
Leeds United’s 2019/20 promotion season under Marcelo Bielsa remains an historic moment for the club. Nearly five years on, Daniel Farke is trying to replicate that achievement, with Leeds currently sitting in 1st place of the Championship table.
Last time out though, Leeds were held to a 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers. For Farke, the midfield selection of late has been a bit of a tricky one with Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rothwell, and Ao Tanaka to juggle.
A few years ago, Kalvin Phillips was the man pulling the strings. Phillips sealed a dream move to Manchester City in 2022 but he’s massively struggled since, featuring just 16 times in the Premier League for City and spending time on loan with West Ham and Ipswich Town.
Fresh Kalvin Phillips verdict at Ipswich Town is grim reading
Ever since Phillips started to struggle away from Elland Road, there’s been reports linking Leeds United with a move for Phillips. And the door could be open for Phillips to return to Leeds in 2025 with City likely to cut ties with the player on a permanent basis.
Ipswich also seem unlikely to pursue a permanent deal as things stand. Phillips, 29, has featured 10 times in the Premier League, with no goals or assists and just one start in the Tractor Boys’ last six games.
Assessing each of the club’s summer signings, Eastern Daily Press labelled Phillips as the ‘biggest faller’ in the list of Ipswich’s summer arrivals, with journalist Mark Heath giving the former England man a quite scathing review.
He wrote: “It’s probably no surprise that Phillips is the biggest faller on this list, which tells its own story.
“The idea that a 31-cap England international with such pedigree would only rank ninth on a list of 12 signings seemed silly back in September, but here we are.
“In truth, it’s just not happened yet for Phillips. After slowly building his way into the starting XI alongside [Sam] Morsy, I thought he looked great in the pulsating 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.
“But then came the red card against Leicester and an ankle injury, which means we’ve only seen him three times since the start of November.”
Heath concluded: “There’s still time for Phillips to shine at Town, but he’s got to stay fit and earn a good run of games. I hope he can do both.”
Kalvin Phillips makes Leeds United return claim
Speaking earlier in the season, Phillips revealed that he was at the Championship play-off final where Leeds lost to Southampton, and that he was gutted with the result.
Then, Phillips revealed whether he’d have returned to Leeds United should they have been promoted.
He said: “Even if Leeds had been promoted and Ipswich had maybe come up in the play-offs then it still would have been a very close call as to where I’d have gone because I just love the story of Ipswich.
“The more I looked into the team and the manager and the club’s rebuild the more I liked.”
It would certainly be an emotional return for Phillips, and if Leeds get promoted this season then it could be a move that makes sense for everyone involved. Time will tell whether Phillips returns to Elland road.
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