Kevin Phillips has been discussing Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey...

Former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips has lavished praise on current Black Cats hitman Brian Brobbey following his hat-trick heroics against Manchester City.

The Dutch international produced a dominant performance at the point of attack last weekend, scoring all three of the Black Cats’ goals in a pulsating 5-3 defeat at the Etihad. Since his arrival last summer, the 24-year-old has scored 10 times in 38 appearances for Regis Le Bris’ side.

And speaking exclusively to The Echo, courtesy of BestBettingSites, Phillips has emphasised the impact that Brobbey is having not just on Wearside, but on the Premier League writ large.

He said: “Listen, he's an absolute handful. Everyone that I've spoken to who supports different teams that have come up against him, they've all said they'd love that type of player in their team - and that's a compliment to the player himself.

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“As I've said before, he's a bit of a throwback to the old-fashioned centre forward - backs in, likes a tussle, likes a fight, likes a battle, and generally comes out on top in every one. Even against the two Arsenal centre-halves, he was magnificent.

“And you ask any player, they don't like playing against him. I was with Joleon Lescott at the European game last week, and he said, ‘I'd like to play against him, but I wouldn't like to play against him, if you know what I mean’. So he's a massive threat. And scoring three goals against Man City will do his confidence the world of good.”

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