Leeds United hero Pablo Hernández has backed Kalvin Phillips to bounce back from his disappointing few years, insisting criticisms of the player’s physical condition are wide of the mark.
Hernández has been speaking to Flashscore in Spain about Leeds and the players he played alongside at Elland Road.
The 39-year-old spent five glorious years at Leeds after first arriving on loan from Al-Arabi SC in August 2016.
He went on to make 175 appearances for the club before leaving on a free transfer in 2021, bagging 36 goals and 41 assists.
His time at the club coincided with Phillip’s rise from the youth ranks to key player under Marcelo Bielsa, as Leeds won the Championship and returned to the Premier League after a 16-year absence.
Philipps’ performances eventually earned him a €50m move to Manchester City but it has been downhill since then, with the midfielder never fitting in under Pep Guardiola.
He’s since had an unsuccessful loan spell at West Ham and joined Ipswich Town this summer in the hope of getting his career back on track.
The 28-year-old has been open about his experiences in the last few months, admitting that comments from Manchester City that he was overweight have dogged him since they were made.
That’s a criticism Hernández isn’t having either, as the player he played alongside at Leeds was certainly not in a bad physical state.
“That year of promotion, Kalvin Phillips was a young player who had come out of the Leeds youth academy, a very important player for us and Manchester City paid €50m I think for him,” he said.
“He hasn’t had the luck there; he hasn’t had the opportunity to prove himself. We know the quality of players there and in his position too, because he has had Rodri, who has been a regular for Guardiola and who I think is the best midfielder in the world.
“Kalvin has now had to look for minutes elsewhere, but he is a lad who physically is a plane, he is a bull, and he plays very good football. Hopefully now he can get his career back on track, prove his worth and come back to City tomorrow.”
