At that age it is an educated guess I think.Perhaps. But it's probably still unclear which CB position would best suit Phillips skillset. The CCB in Conte's system is the organiser, so they need a lot of experience & game intelligence.
I remember when we signed young CB Leigh Mills. IIRC he was captain of England U17s and a major prospect.
Sadly, it never worked out for him in terms of top flight football. Another reminder that there are no guarantees.
Leigh Mills - Wikipedia
When we poached John Bostock from Palace he was the future of football, look how that turned out.