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We don’t have official confirmation, but it appears that 21-year-old defender Giles Phillips is the New England Revolution’s mystery trialist.
Curiosity heightened on Feb. 3 when an unnamed trialist entered for the Revs during their preseason game against FC Krasnodar. The lanky defender slotted in at centerback alongside Jalil Anibaba. The two paired for the final 30 minutes of the Revs’ 2-0 loss.
The trialist also appeared in Wednesday’s game against FC Dynamo Kyiv, playing the final 29 minutes. This time he partnered with Antonio Delamea in a 3-1 win.
Many have tried to identify the trialist since his emergence. The first major clue came from West London Sport, which reported that the Revolution were interested in acquiring Phillips and/or Niko Hamalainen, who are both with Queens Park Rangers.
@NERevsRumors added more insight when he noted that Phillips had an Instagram story that stated he was in Marbella, Spain, which is where the Revs are stationed.
CONFIRMED: QPR defender Giles Phillips is in Marbella, Spain. He’s the likely #45 spotted in the most recent #NERevs highlight reel #NERevsInSpain pic.twitter.com/5SmFqpYWkP
— NERevs Rumors (@NERevsRumor) February 3, 2019
Still not convinced? Take a look at this screengrab from Wednesday’s preseason game.
In case you needed further proof that Giles Phillips is the #NERevs' mystery trialist, here's a screengrab from today's game. Looks like him to me. pic.twitter.com/HXhKaksCCM
— Seth (@SethMan31) February 7, 2019
Phillips’ status with the Revs is currently unknown, though West London Sport says that a loan deal is already done.