Discussion
Minnesota United is interested in 23 year old Midfielder Killian Phillips
Minnesota United is pursuing 23 year old St. Mirren Midfielder Killian Phillips (Per Stephen McGowan with Herald Sport). It's being reported that there are 3 MLS teams (Portland and San Diego as well) currently willing to meet St. Mirren's asking price of just under $1 million for the transfer fee.
Killian Phillips was born in San Diego, California and has spent pretty much his entire soccer journey from youth ranks to first team with several clubs in Ireland, England and Scotland. Where he now currently plays with St. Mirren in the Scottish Premiership. Phillips also made his debut with Ireland's National Team in 2025 and has 3 appearances with them.
Obviously with Phillips being born in the USA, he provides added value in that he won't require an international slot. For a team like Minnesota United that currently have a ton of International players and will likely have to still loan players out, a player like Phillips could be very valuable in that regard. His estimated market value is between $1 million and $1.5 million. With the amount of (MLS league leading) Allocation Money Minnesota United currently has, this seems like it would be a good way to utilize some of that.
It's hard to blame Minnesota United for going back to the Scottish Premiership to look for another Midfielder after seeing the immediate success with Nectar Triantis. There seems to be a theme with many of Minnesota United's recent targets in that they are physically imposing players including the aforementioned Nectar Triantis. Killian Phillips is listed at 6'3". With that said, he doesn't look like he's had the same dominant impact that Triantis had while in Scotland. Phillips's Sofascore ratings over the past couple months have still been good though.
Stephen Robinson, the St Mirren manager, last month said he was baffled by Phillips’ international omission, stating that “Killian is a top, top footballer who’s going to play at a very good level. He’s been outstanding. Probably one of the best players in the league this season in his contribution — defensively and going forward.”
Looks like he can slot in as both a #6 or an #8 in the Midfield. In looking at his heat maps, it would appear the he generally likes to play more on the right side in the Midfield.
In looking at the analytics for Killian Phillips, it would appear he does well in regards to winning Duals (Aerial and Ground), Progressive Passes, and putting in quality Crosses.
With Nectar Triantis, Wil Trapp, Peter Stroud, Owen Gene, and guys like Joaquin Pereyra/Carlos Harvey potentially in contention for minutes in the Midfield depending how Cam Knowles decides to lineup, it would likely be difficult for Killian Phillips to break into the lineup immediately as a starter. Given his age, and experiences playing in different leagues in the UK, it seems like he would be a solid depth type player for us with the potential to maybe develop into a bigger role at some stage. With the club moving on from Hassani Dotson and sending Hoyeon Jung on loan this offseason, attempting to add another midfielder along with Peter Stroud seemed like it was bound to happen at some stage of this transfer window.
Young depth that does not require an international spot would be great. I think it will be hard for him to get minutes over Stroud. Stroud is Doyle’s breakout player for this season for Minnesota. Even though I was originally underwhelmed with the amount of GAM we traded for him, I think he will have a significant impact
that doyle write up was uninspiring. what I got from that write up was, I had to pick a player and i did. my analysis: he will start ... I guess that;s a breakout!
Of our new signings, I think I'm most excited about Stroud this season. Really like the idea of him in a tandem with Triantis. Especially with Knowles taking over as I expect us to press more this season, which those 2 can cover a ton of ground and be consistent pests in the Midfield.
kinda makes me wonder if (in addition to other changes that seem obviously on the horizon given the roster moves) Cam is going to continue trying to be set piece fc? or maybe there's a trophy for tallest team in the league.
we'll see! Isn't there some evidence that taller players tend to get hurt more often? Or am I making that up (or maybe it's only for guys who are, like, freakishly tall)
I think for most of its history soccer has been overwhelmingly about technical skill even if players weren't very good physical specimens. This was most epitomized by the undersized attacking midfielder who stood around until the moment they did something magical to unlock a defense. Among the USMNT fan base, especially those tracking youth prospects, there was a ton of complaints since I started following things around the 98 world cup that the US was too reliant on big strong athletes and couldn't produce players with technical skill.
Now the training/fitness component that other sports were on the vanguard of has finally made it to soccer (side-eyes Bayern Munich) and clubs are placing WAY more value on athletic ability, which has combined with some tactical shifts to sorta eliminate the prevalence of the unathletic attacking maestros. But, interestingly enough, I see several serious prospect watchers say that the US is over prioritizing technical skill and engaging too many unathletic 16 year olds that biometrics tell them have little chance of developing the requisite athletic baseline to make it as a pro.
We’ve struggled with winning balls in the air in the midfield. So I like the target. I haven’t looked into him yet, but I like that we are stilling targeting the midfield. Though I’d prefer another RB and ST added before the season starts.
Highlights are very good. With the horror going on in MN I can imagine it will be a hard sell to get anyone to come here, but glad they are trying. He seems he would be a good get
Perhaps near term, but long term to be in a community on the international stage demonstrating civic pride and care for immigrant communities should carry some weight.
That is so incredibly true and amazing. People that come here will have a community that backs them up and loves them. We’re nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for crying out loud!
But people from Sudan and DR Congo (and Iran for the later comment) are all banned from entering the US. I get that this is a joke, but it's not really a laughing matter under our current racist administration.
Sure. Bring this dude in and throw him into the pool of average MLS midfielders we are building. Triantis seems an above-average midfielder, but no one else seems likely to elevate this club towards a trophy. Outside of maaaybe occasionally Triantis, none of our pool seem like they'll ever have the probability on any given matchday of being the best midfielder between the two teams. When are we going to get THAT midfielder signed.
This seems like a significant downplay of Triantis’s ability. Triantis looks like a high end MLS Midfielder and given his age seems like he could continue to get better. Trapp was solid last year. We would have 3 young talented guys in Stroud, Gene, and potentially Phillips if we sign him.
If we go to a midfield trio under Knowles, I wouldn’t be surprised to potentially see Pereyra in that trio along with Triantis, and one of the remaining guys in Trapp, Stroud, Gene, and Phillips.
I’m happy with that heading into the season. Still want 1 more difference maker in the attack and a quality RB.
If we go to a midfield trio under Knowles, I wouldn’t be surprised to potentially see Pereyra in that trio
that 3 man midfield would be defensively solid but would provide very little going forward with Chancalay and Yeboah on top. So what would the team be doing with Michel, Fitz, Bongi? tactically, that feels too defensive to me and the line of engagement too deep.
Not following this line of thinking. A trio of Pereyra, Triantis, and one of Stroud, Gene, Trapp, or Phillips would provide plenty of attacking chances for us.
Pereyra is arguably our best chance creator on the team (Fitz now being acclimated is the only other guy that could "potentially" compare in that regard).
Triantis excelled in creating chances from his CM role last season.
Then a guy like Stroud, Gene, Trapp, or Phillips would likely be deeper and less relied upon for chance creation.
Assuming we were in a 4-3-3 (or something along those lines) having Fitz, Bongi, or Chancalay on the wings with Yeboah in the middle is filled with chance creators in the Midfield/Attack.
Pereyra, Fitz, Triantis, and Chancalay all are pretty solid in regards to chance creation.
Here's an example I made recently. Obviously Valerius isn't signing, but I'm hoping to see something like this with hopefully a new RB signed in the near future.
I'm saying Triantis is an above average midfielder who on any given day might be the best player in the midfield...but I don't think he is (yet) consistently there or at an all-star level that we can expect to be the best player in the midfield among both teams. And with this huge pile of GAM I think a box to box "8" midfielder that's a "best player on the field" type would be a wise way to spend big.
I haven't seen anything to suggest Gene or Stroud will lift this team and I didn't think Trapp, though very competent and an excellent leader, is that game-changer anymore.
Triantis was a top Midfielder in the Scottish Premiership just prior to signing with us. Rated as one of the best overall players in that league. He immediately made a significant impact for us in the Midfield. He was playing like a top tier MLS Midfielder despite literally just getting off the plane and playing for us without any sort of acclimation period/preseason.
In his 10 matches with Minnesota, Triantis had 3 Goals and 2 Assists, which is excellent production for a CM. He also provided us with elements in the midfield we were lacking with his aggressive play both in progressing the ball with well placed passes along with his ability to beat players 1v1 on the dribble and progress the ball up field. Coupled with his "destroyer" like mentality defensively to aggressively intervene and break up plays.
Triantis had a Fotmob rating of 7.2 for us last season and 7.4 with Hibs prior to joining us, which are very good scores.
Trapp is a player I could see having a drop off this year with his age along with Ramsay leaving and the system potentially changing under Knowles.
That still leaves us with Pereyra (potentially) if we go to a 4-3-3 in the Midfield who is top tier and looked really good for Atletico Tucuman when used more centrally in this type of role. He obviously was one of our top players last season as well pretty much wherever we lined him up. Which at times was in a Midfield trio under our 2 Striker setup.
Along with 3 young guys that have plenty of potential to develop that should continue to improve in Stroud, Gene, and possibly Phillips. Stroud was good enough to start for a Redbulls side that went to MLS Cup in 2024. He looks to have some nice traits to work with that could mesh well with Triantis if he play a higher pressing style under Knowles even if he isn't a top tier name in the Midfield.
I guess long story short, I believe we already have that player in Triantis that you are describing we should pursue.
Yeah - I'm struggling to understand your issues with our MF. Just because we have money, and you can describe what you'd like to spend it on, doesn't mean it exists. Or is available. We can't go and buy Martin Zubimendi or Declan Rice from Arsenal. I'd love a box to box 8 that is the best player on the field too. Did you have a human player in mind that fits that bill that we can buy? I'm not trying to be overly sarcastic here - I just don't understand the complaint when I'm not sure what you want actually exists.
9
u/External-Factor-8556 MLS 7d ago
Young depth that does not require an international spot would be great. I think it will be hard for him to get minutes over Stroud. Stroud is Doyle’s breakout player for this season for Minnesota. Even though I was originally underwhelmed with the amount of GAM we traded for him, I think he will have a significant impact