What do Spanish midfield maestro Javi Martinez, ex-Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte and former Leeds United fan-favourite Kalvin Phillips all have in common?

The answer is that they've all had the unique privilege of being mentored by two footballing masterminds: Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola. While Guardiola will surely end his career with the more glittering trophy cabinet, he has always heaped praise on former Whites manager Bielsa, who he regards as a huge influence on his own managerial journey.

Guardiola has never been shy to give Bielsa his flowers, having openly labelled him a mentor. When the Argentine's Leeds side joined Guardiola's City in the top flight, the six-time Premier League title winner said: "Give him my Barcelona and you will see how he will win titles. Give me Leeds, with all due respect to the Leeds players, but I would still be in the Championship."

Now former Leeds midfielder Phillips, who, as mentioned, played under both tacticians, has sought to explain the similarities that the pair share. "I'd say the similarities are how demanding (they are)", the City man - who's currently on loan at Ipswich Town - revealed while speaking to Leeds frontman Patrick Bamford on the My Mate's a Footballer podcast.

Despite Guardiola's well-known admiration for Bielsa, Phillips also divulged the vast difference between their tactical set-ups. The former England international said: "I think Pep's more about possession based and not forcing passes and making sure when you make the pass it's 100 per-cent.

"Bielsa was more like, 'get forward as quick as possible, wingers bomb on, strikers - make sure you get in the box, midfielders - make sure you get in the box and then if you lose a ball, try and win it back as fast as possible. If you don't, then you've got like a 50 metre sprint to your own goal'."

Phillips has admitted to struggling since his move to Manchester, expressing frustration over Guardiola's remarks about him being overweight after the 2022 Qatar World Cup. But he remains optimistic about his stint with Ipswich, stating that new boss Kieran McKenna has placed trust in him, and made sure that everything he did was for his benefit.

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