After helping Leeds earn promotion to the Premier League and establish themselves as a top flight club, Phillips has gone on to cement his place as a regular in the England squad.
Elland Road great Matteo feels the 25-year-old has been outstanding for the Three Lions and insisted that he deserves all the praise and attention he is getting now.
Matteo is of the view that Phillips is continuing to improve as a player each passing day and explained that the midfielder is the most improved player has seen in years.
“Kalvin has been outstanding [for England]“, Matteo said on LUTV.
“For me, [Phillips is] probably the most improved player I have seen for years.
“He is getting better and better and better every week.
“I don’t want to jinx the kid because he deserves everything he gets at the moment because he is so good.“
Lauding Phillips for his improvement as a player, Matteo admitted that the Englishman has not always been as good and went on to explain that he is a role model for Leeds and the city as a whole.
“From Kalvin’s point of view, it’s about progression and improving all the time“, Matteo said.
“Every time I see him, I feel like it is so comfortable to watch him, it wasn’t like that when I first saw him play, I’ll be honest.
“He was still a top player, but I think I have seen the improvement so much with him and it is great to see that.
“It didn’t come too soon, he has played a lot of games for Leeds United, a lot already.
“So, he has just been a role model for the city as well, which is great.
“We see all the banners all around Leeds, don’t we? All these murals people are drawing and stuff.
“I think it is great to see that because he is from Leeds.
“When I was at Liverpool and I was a local lad playing for your hometown team, there is something about that and I think Kalvin really epitomises what it means to be a Leeds player and long may it continue.“
Having established himself as a regular for Leeds and England, Phillips, who is currently 25 years old, will be looking to continue his development as a player.
