Fans of Leeds United have been reacting to a post on Twitter, in which Phil Hay relays an article of his concerning the injury to Kalvin Phillips.
In his article for The Athletic, Hay states that Marcelo Bielsa ‘will miss his main man’, after the midfielder picked up a shoulder injury in the club’s 1-0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday, however, that ‘creative solutions’ are Bielsa’s ‘forte’.
In his tweet, which contained a link to his article, Hay also stated that ‘the absence of Phillips reminds you of how pivotal he really is’ to Bielsa’s side, and that ‘no player at Leeds feels harder to replace’.
So, what did these Leeds United fans have to say in reaction to Phil Hay’s post regarding Kalvin Phillips?
Given that Phillips is starting to look seriously injury prone, you'd have thought they might look for a back up in the window rather than stockpile wingers
— Ricky Block (@richardblock24) October 22, 2020
To be 100% fair here I think (IMO) that he has gone missing in some games this season. I thought he was bullied for large parts in the Liverpool game and slightly off pace for the Wolves and Sheffield games. Perhaps this will give him a chance to recharge.
— Steven Noble ??? (@StevenNoble) October 22, 2020
I think that he is slightly poor at the beginning this season! England’s call isn’t doing well for him!He is maybe exhausted with club’s and international’s matches!But he did some silly and serious mistakes in previous matches!I think that this injury will full his batteries!
— alex_vlado (@vlado_alex) October 22, 2020
The lack of having a backup is partly down to the Forshaw injury but also the club not strengthening this position. Having said that, I think he’s been below par in the opening games and was very poor against Wolves…
— Indy Bansel (@IndyBansel) October 22, 2020
It would appear as if some of these Leeds fans feel that Phillips has been below par so far in the club’s Premier League campaign, however, over his five league appearances this season, the £19.8 million-rated 24-year-old has still averaged an impressive WhoScored match rating of 6.94 – ranking him as the club’s joint sixth-best player in the league.
Do you think Phillips has been below par for Leeds so far this season?
Yes
No
Further to this, it should not be forgotten that the England international was highly influential in the club’s promotion campaign last season, as, over his 37 appearances in the Championship, Phillips averaged a WhoScored match rating of 7.22 – ranking him as the club’s joint second-best performer in the league.
Dallas is the one person I never want to see injured!! Struijk would be brilliant in there, and I think Koch to. I’d rather have had ron viera than Philips, Kalvin is miles off the pace,he’s the slowest midfielder I’ve ever seen!nowhere near the player @lewiscook_ was. #MOT
— King Pablo ???? #LEEDSCHAMPIONS #ALAW #MOT (@PabloH1919) October 22, 2020
Klich is harder to replace
— loop (@Loop147Loop) October 22, 2020
https://twitter.com/caleb23lufc/status/1319169477246898176
All in all, it would seem that many of these Leeds fans disagree with Hay’s opinion that Phillips is the hardest player to replace at Leeds, while others have taken aim at the midfielder for his so-called poor performances in the Premier League thus far.