MusaPhillips joined Ipswich on a season-long loan in the summer after a very difficult few years since leaving Leeds for Manchester City in 2022.
The 28-year-old was only an inconsequential player in the City team that won the treble, then struggled mightily when on loan to West Ham in January this year.
A move to Ipswich, who are top of the pile after being promoted to second, helped reduce the focus on Phillips, who teamed up with former Leeds teammates Jack Clarke and Leif Davis at Portman Road.
Phillips says that if his old club were promoted in the summer, he would choose between Leeds and Ipswich. Leeds have agreed a contract with Man City.
Phillips has spoken out about Leif Davis’ England prospects
Phillips was one of the best players in his position during his time at Leeds, making 31 appearances for England.
His form has deteriorated so much recently that Phillips is currently far from securing a place in the England squad again, but he certainly knows what it takes to break through from a smaller club to the national team.
In an interview with the East Anglian Daily Times, Phillips advised former Leeds and now Ipswich star Davis to follow in his footsteps.
Phillips believes that Davis is already one of the best left-backs in the Premier League, and thinks a call-up to the Three Lions squad will not be far away.
He said: ‘Davis will be able to play abroad in the future,’ he said: ‘I was surprised he wasn’t called up to the last team. Against Tottenham I thought he was very good. He is definitely one of the best in the league. It just seems to me that there is room in the squad for a natural attacking left-sided defender, which is probably the way (Thomas) Tuchel will want to play.
“It seems to me that the call-up for Leif is more expected by me than it is by him. I haven’t said this much to him because I don’t want him to feel pressured, but I feel his time will come and when it does, I want him to be able to grab it with both hands.”
Davis sold by Leeds for £1m, now shines in Premier League
Davis is surely one of Leeds’ most frustrating transfer decisions in recent years, having been sold for just £1m in 2022.
Nevertheless, at the time no one could have predicted the path his career would take, especially after a not very successful loan spell at Bournemouth.
Clearly, the decision to go down and come up was the best decision Davis could have made for his career, and it really showed in the Premier League.
No defender has created more chances than Davis this season, with the 24-year-old ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Musa
