Kalvin Phillips’ future at Leeds United has been a huge topic of discussion of late after links with Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool.
Man Utd are reportedly ready to offer £60m in January but that has led to Leeds making a move to tie down their star midfielder to a new contract, per reports.
That has been confirmed by his agent Kevin Sharp, so here at Leeds Live we thought we’d take a look at all the key information surrounding Phillips‘ future at the moment.
Man Utd, Man City and Liverpool interest
Manchester City are reportedly looking at Phillips as a long-term successor to Fernandinho.
Pep Guardiola has been impressed with the midfielder and having recently bought British with Jack Grealish, Phillips is seen as a first-choice option in the champions’ midfield.
That’s according to fichajes.net, who report that Phillips would be available for as little as £26million.
Without being inside Thorp Arch, that quoted fee seems a non-starter given Phillips’ importance to the side and contract status.
In fact, the £60m fee mentioned by the Daily Star in regards to Man Utd’s interest seems more in line with the kind of money Leeds would expect to be able to demand for their star man. However, the Daily Star are claiming that it’s Man Utd who the club will have to be demanding that fee from as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has turned his attention away from Declan Rice and onto Phillips.
Should Leeds’ great rivals bid for Phillips, it would be likely that the Whites wouldn’t want to deal with them, such would be the bad-blood around the deal from the Leeds fan base. If a deal was to be done, it would have to be at a heavily inflated fee in order to placate upset fans.
Phillips has also been linked to Liverpool, with pundits believing the midfielder would be ‘perfect’ for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
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What Phillips has said
Phillips gave his thoughts on Man Utd in an interview with GQ. When the Yorkshire Pirlo was asked what he thought about the Old Trafford club, he replied ‘nothing’.
He also went on record in the same interview saying that he wanted to play for titles and in European competition. However, he felt he could do this with the Whites, saying: “I want to play in the Europa League, the Champions League. But I want to do that, ideally with Leeds. With Leeds, and the way that we’re heading, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t.”
Agent comments on new deal
Phillips’ agent Kevin Sharp has spoken to the Daily Telegraph and told the media outlet that he expects a ‘positive outcome’ for Leeds.
“I can only see a positive outcome. Kalvin’s desire is to stay at Leeds and there is a real willingness from all sides to make it happen,” he told the Telegraph.
This comes following his comments in the summer, when Sharp insisted Phillips had no desire to leave Leeds, despite starring for England and attracting interest.
Sharp told i: “Before Kalvin signed his last contract, we had good interest so we sat down and explored all the pros and cons. His desire was never to leave, it was to be rewarded and stay and play for the team he supported as a kid.
“Within the contract he signed in September 2019, we included provisions within it for if Leeds reached the Premier League, so it’s all set up for the top flight.
“We knew it was a bit of a gamble, but we knew Leeds would get there under [Marcelo] Bielsa and obviously they did.
“There may be clubs who are actually looking at Kalvin now because the more successful you are – playing for England in big tournaments – naturally breeds interest. But Kalvin is happy at Leeds and has no desire to move whatsoever. It’s more a case of ‘carry on what you’re doing for club and country’.”
Bielsa speaks out
Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa was asked about Phillips’ future during the most recent pre-match press conference.
“That’s a question Kalvin needs to answer,” said the Argentine. “Of course he’s a very valuable player. We have to adapt ourselves to how he feels belonging to Leeds. In the measure his career he develops. I have seen in him the conduct I have very rarely seen in a player. In how football is right now, for a player to decline a team above the level where he is at, due to love of a club he is at, is not frequent.”
Such is the quality of the player, Bielsa believes that Phillips will have to ‘endure decisions like this the rest of his life’, as he will often be attracting the attention of other clubs.
However, he mentioned that Phillips would always be torn by his love for Leeds.
“When you go for the money, or for the evolution, you resolve a moment in your sporting career, but when you opt for affection of those people, you resolve in commas your life forever. When you’re loved where you’re from, the possibilities to be happy increase.”