Marcelo Bielsa got the best out of several players during his successful spell at Leeds United, where he became somewhat of a hero in Yorkshire after securing the club's promotion back into the Premier League. But it's Kalvin Phillips who really stood out at times under the Argentine.
The midfielder impressed so much, in fact, he earned a move to Manchester City, with Leeds receiving a reported £45m fee last summer.
The England international hasn't quite replicated his Leeds form at The Etihad, however, struggling for game-time and form throughout his debut season under Pep Guardiola. Of course, injuries didn't help as he missed 16 games with a shoulder injury at the start of the campaign. From there, it was always going to be difficult to break into the City side.
Despite his struggles, though, Phillips came away from his first season in Manchester with a treble after City won the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup.
Amid his difficulties, Phillips turned to the man who have him such a high platform to succeed in the first place, as Bielsa showed his class once more.
What did Marcelo Bielsa say to Kalvin Phillips?
Speaking to BBC 5 Live, Phillips said: "Marcelo Bielsa is a very special person to me. He’s a great manager and he’s a manager who found the best in me as a football player, with where he wanted me to play and how he wanted me to play. I’ll always be grateful for that.
"I actually spoke to him. I came on against Leicester, and I didn’t do too well, and I was feeling a little bit down."
The midfielder went on to say: "He was just asking me how I was, and how I was feeling and what I was thinking, and we had a really good conversation, so the relationship is obviously still there with Bielsa."
In that game – a 3-1 victory – Phillips failed to impress as he "got in a tangle with Ederson" for the only Leicester goal.
With a boost from his former manager, however, perhaps next season will be the one in which the midfielder makes his mark.
What is the market value of Kalvin Phillips?
Since Manchester City paid that reported £45m for him last summer, Phillips' market value has gone down significantly, which is perhaps an indication as to how disappointingly things have gone for the midfielder.
As per Transfermarkt, the former Leeds man is currently worth €32m (£27.29m), meaning that if City did want to get rid of Phillips, they'd potentially be making a loss of almost £20m.
Currently, 27, Phillips should be playing at the peak of his powers. Instead, though, he is resigned to sitting on the bench under Guardiola at City. Alarm bells may have been ringing earlier this summer, too, when the Premier League champions were reportedly making a move for the now Arsenal-bound Declan Rice.
Rice plays in Phillips' position, who already finds himself behind Rodri in the pecking order, so a move for Rice could have been pretty disastrous for his ambitions at the club.
As of right now, however, last summer's signing looks set to get another crack at impressing Guardiola in the coming campaign. And with so many trophies coming his way last term, Phillips may just settle for a place on the bench in exchange for a number of medals.
Only time will tell, but, either way, Bielsa has his back.
