Manchester City teenager Rico Lewis has impressed Pep Guardiola and looks to be firmly on Gareth Southgate's radar for the future
The match footage now available to the England manager means that it shouldn't really matter which game they physically attend, yet their presence can still be seen as a boost to a particular player.
That connection of going to watch a player is a sign of closeness that cannot have the same impact in a phone call or a text, and is a trust that national team managers need when they do not have players with them for most of the calendar year. Southgate has to place a significant amount of his judgments on what players do when he is with them despite the fact that is only a fraction of their football.
Time will tell if Phillips can retain his place as Declan Rice's back-up and enabler in the England squad for the European Championship next summer if he continues to be overlooked by Guardiola - particularly if it is Lewis that is taking his minutes. The 18-year-old looked terrific again in the 9-1 win over Serbia Under-21s on Thursday as he roamed all over the pitch and picked up a couple of assists.
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