When Kalvin Phillips departed Leeds United this summer for Manchester City, it left the Whites with a massive hole in the heart of their midfield. Phillips was transformed by former boss Marcelo Bielsa into perhaps the most important player in the Whites recent history and there was no doubt his departure was a bitter blow to Leeds ahead of the new Premier League season.
However, the reality is, Leeds have not really missed Phillips all that much thanks in part to his Elland Road replacement.
American international Tyler Adams arrived at Leeds this summer from RB Leipzig, in a move that saw him reunited with his former coach Jesse Marsch.
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Since his arrival, the 23-year-old has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water. He, alongside Marc Roca, have formed a strong two man midfield for Marsch and Leeds which has helped mitigate for Phillips departure. So far, Adams looks a natural in the Premier League. He has plenty of energy in the middle of the park which has helped Marsch implement his pressing style to Leeds game.
Of course, if anyone knew what Adams was capable of, it was Marsch, who spoke warmly about the American international following Leeds win over Chelsea in August.
"Tyler is another guy who is playing the best football in his life, for me, and I know the potential that he has because I've known him for so long,” said Marsch following Leeds' 3-0 dismantling of Chelsea. "I could see from the beginning when he came in and we had some tough conversations, we needed to almost pick up where we left off a couple of years ago and he's certainly doing that in a big way.
"Again, with all these guys, they're playing really well and there's so much more potential yet, I would say that about Tyler as well. I'm really happy with him, but we can continue to help him to get better and better."
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