Kalvin Phillips was put in the unenviable position of ranking three of England’s brightest attacking talents; Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, Manchester City playmaker Phil Foden and Chelsea’s talisman, Cole Palmer.

The Ipswich Town midfielder has played with all three forwards, lining up for the England national team alongside Saka while spending extensive time on the training pitch with Foden and Palmer during the trio’s shared time together at Manchester City.

When confronted with the prospect of separating three of the best players in world football during an interview with Sky Sports, Phillips laughed: “What am I supposed to do with this?”

The former Leeds United starlet eventually settled upon Phil Foden as the standout among these stars, ranking Palmer second above Saka. By way of explanation, Phillips cited Foden’s status as the reigning PFA Players’ Player of the Year following a glittering campaign at the epicentre of a City side which claimed a fourth consecutive top-flight title.

Phillips made four substitute appearances for the champions before a disastrous loan spell at West Ham United in the second half of last season. While he didn’t spend much time with Foden on Premier League pitches, Phillips hailed his compatriot as “the best player I’ve ever trained with”. Lofty praise from a professional who has shared sessions with Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.

Palmer broke into City’s first team in the same season that Phillips arrived in Manchester following his £45m transfer in the summer of 2022. While the expensive new recruit was limited to just four starts across all competitions that campaign, Palmer showed the first flashes of his abundant talent during a glut of cameo appearances, racking up more minutes, goals and assists than Phillips that term.

Rather than getting drawn to Palmer’s effortless grace on the pitch, Phillips hailed the City academy graduate’s personality. “I love Cole,” the 28-year-old grinned, “because he’s just so laid-back, so chill. He’s very funny as well.”

Phillips was the first player to console Saka after his missed penalty in the final of Euro 2020 which confirmed England’s defeat to Italy, running from the halfway line to embrace his teammate and friend. In a setting with slightly lower stakes, Phillips was again quick to comfort the Arsenal man who came bottom of his personal rankings.

Ipswich’s summer recruit sheepishly said: “He’s going to hate me for this. Bukayo has probably been the most consistent, I would say, out of these, over the years.

“Hopefully this year he can show again his consistency and have a really good season and I think he will do as well. He’s a lovely kid as well.”

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