Town manager Kieran McKenna believes Kalvin Phillips’s range of experience will be hugely beneficial to the squad as the Blues prepare for their first Premier League season in 22 years.
Phillips became the Blues’ second arrival of the day, and eighth of the summer, when he signed on a season-long loan from Premier League champions Manchester City.
The England international brings a wealth of top-flight and international experience, having been capped 31 times by the Three Lions and played 73 matches in the Premier League, the most of anyone in the Blues side.
In addition to his elite-level background, McKenna was keen to emphasise his experiences as a newly-promoted player at Leeds United in 2020 as something which the squad can learn from as many embark on a similar journey four years on.
"Those two words are pretty key, he brings experience and he brings quality,” McKenna said. "Of course, he brings recent experience of playing at the top echelon of club football at probably the best club side in the world picking up and being part of trophy winning squads.
"He has major international experience and has had a big part to play with England over the last few years, so of course he has those experiences and our players will be very keen to learn from him and pick things up off of him and he's more than willing to share some of the things he's learned on that journey.
"But also really importantly for me, again similar to Sammie [Szmodics], Kalvin's worked so hard to get where he's got in his career, it's a fantastic achievement to do what he's done to come through at Leeds and progress from playing seasons in the Championship, and again got better and better year-by-year.
"He was part of a newly-promoted team that really went and attacked the next division and, on a personal level, had two fantastic seasons in the Premier League as part of a newly-promoted team.
"So he's been through the experience that a lot of our players are now going into, he's climbed that mountain, I'm sure he's very proud of himself for doing that and I know he's very hungry now for the next thing.
"But for experience, it's not just the top-level experience he's had but also the shared experience he's had with our players of having to fight and work your way to the top league and the best league in the world.
"He's already done that, he's now in a squad with a lot of other boys who are going to do that and I'm sure he'll be a help to them and I'm sure they'll be a help to him because it's a fantastic group here for anyone to come into.
"Whether you're a young player, an experienced player or an international player like Kalvin, the playing squad here, the staff and the culture that he's coming into is a really positive one and I'm sure he'll benefit from that and we'll benefit from having him here.”
McKenna says Phillips remains a grounded character and his status as a player from one of the best teams in world football will not hinder the balance of the existing playing squad.
He said: "He’s played for probably the best club side in the world over the last few years, but that doesn’t make you a super-star.
"I’m sure there are lots of players in that team who have played every game and had massive parts and probably don’t perceive themselves or act like super-stars.
"He’s a good man, he’s a family man, he’s worked ever so hard to get where he’s at in his career. He comes into a group full of good characters, who have also worked really hard to get to where they’ve got to in their career and we think he fits really well in that environment and the players are excited to have him here and he’s excited to be here.
"And, just like everyone else, he’ll look to work hard in training, do his very best for the team when his opportunities come and we’re sure he can have a positive season.”
Since signing for Pep Guardiola’s side in 2022, Phillips has struggled for minutes, starting only two Premier League matches and six in all competitions.
The 28-year-old ended last season with a difficult loan spell at West Ham United, but McKenna hopes his toils in east London can be put behind him and can focus on his future at Portman Road.
"My relationship with Kalvin is still to grow,” he said. "We’re getting to know one another well now and I’d rather focus on the positives, to be honest. If you asked me if players come through Leeds’ academy in the Championship and progress to playing in the biggest club tournaments in the world, he’s had a fantastic career.
"Anyone’s career, whether it’s Kalvin or any other player in the football club or in the league, your career is not always in a straight upwards trajectory, there are ups and downs on the way, as there have been for so many of our players and there’s no difference in any of those.
"It’s about doing the right things day-to-day and working hard to be at your best level and every player here is going to look to do that.”
Despite Phillips’s difficulties recently, it is clear he is a player with a lot of talent and still with plenty of potential. Having beaten interest from Fulham and Everton, McKenna says he is pleased to have the midfielder and is looking forward to working with him more closely.
He said: "I’m still getting to know Kalvin. Of course, as a player, I’ve admired his work, especially from Leeds onwards, really, and seeing him in the Championship and then seeing the way that he and the team stepped up to the Premier League and his impact over the couple of seasons in the Premier League for Leeds and his massive impact at international level.
"Beyond that, I’ll continue to grow my relationship with Kalvin and understand him. I know he’s a very good person, he’s a humble man, he’s a great teammate, he wants to do well, he’s still hungry to push on in his career.
"He’s achieved an awful lot, let’s not forget, to reach the level that he has done in the game only a very, very, very small percentile of all professional footballers have done it.
"He’s achieved a really high level, he’s hungry to get back to that level again. We hope to bring him to a level past what he’s got to before.
"He’s still 28 years old, I think a big part of coming into our building, into our culture is that you still look to improve, whether you’re Massimo Luongo or Samy Morsy at 31, 32 or Kalvin at 28 or Omari Hutchinson at 20.
"We still always start from that basis that everybody can still get better and I know Kalvin’s sharing that mindset as well.
"We’re excited to have him, we really believe that he’s going to add a lot of positive things to the building and believe that this will be a good place for him as well.”