Kalvin Phillips
Kalvin Phillips joined Sheffield United on loan from Manchester City with the dream of rekindling his career. However, it turned out to be a real nightmare in the Steel City derby on Sunday.
The former Leeds midfielder was just settling in after joining the Blades on deadline day following Manchester City’s agreement to pay a large portion of his wages.
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Wilder was delighted to sign a player who has promotion experience and played for England in a major final. However, all those plans went up in smoke in the heat of the derby against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
Phillips was sent off for a horror tackle early in the second half and will now miss the next three games, which is a huge blow for a player who joined Sheffield United as he wanted to play as much as possible.
Chris Wilder reacts to the Kalvin Phillips red card
Phillips has been widely slammed for the horror tackle on Sunday. However, Wilder believes the challenge looks worse due to slow-motion replays.
He insisted that while it was a red card, it was nothing more than a mistimed tackle, and that can happen in a game of football.
The Sheffield United boss also feels that for a player who has not played much football in recent years, it was not totally unexpected that such a thing could happen.
He stressed that this will set Phillips back, as he was just getting back to his groove after joining Sheffield United in the winter window.
Wilder said on Sheffield United’s Official YouTube channel: “He has mistimed a tackle.
“It’s a competitive game in the middle of the park, and people make tackles.
“Once you slow it down, as people always do, it looks pretty bad.
“It just looks like a mistimed tackle, and with Joes and Kalvins, when you have not played a lot of football, you can get it wrong.
“We suffer, but he certainly suffers more because he has been outstanding after getting up to speed.
“For him to miss three games is disappointing.”
The former Leeds star’s career is in the doldrums
Phillips recently admitted that he opted to join Sheffield United over Premier League clubs as he wanted to play as much football as possible in the latter half of the season.
However, the red card has massively blown away his plans, and he will now have to watch the next three games from the stands.
Kalvin Phillips – Sheffield United vs Sheffield Wednesday Match Stats
Individual performance breakdown in the Steel City derby
Club
Assists
Expected Assists (xA)
Key Passes
Crosses (Accurate)
Accurate Passes
Passes in Opposition Half (Acc.)
Passes in Own Half (Acc.)
He was just about getting back to his rhythm and will now have to start from scratch to build back match fitness ahead of the end of his suspension.
Wilder may also think twice about starting him, as clearly Phillips is a yard off at the moment because of the limited football he has played in recent years.
It remains to be seen whether the former Leeds star, who was termed the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’, can come back from this latest setback.