It is safe to say Leeds United fans would love to see Kalvin Phillips back at Elland Road, irrespective of whether the club requires a new midfielder in the next few weeks.
Phillips, 29, is back at Man City after a second loan spell away from the club, having joined Ipswich Town for the 2024-25 campaign. While the former England Player of the Year returned to fitness, he struggled.
His time at West Ham prior to his loan at Ipswich could not have gone much worse. With Leeds back in the Premier League, The Whites now have a chance to sign the England midfielder, given his wages.
It has been claimed that Phillips considered rejoining Leeds in the Championship but a move would have been difficult, given the financial element. Now, Phillips is keen to return to Leeds in the next few weeks.
Kalvin Phillips in action for Ipswich.
Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images
Leeds are in the mix to sign Kalvin Phillips, but will have to wait
Recently, Phillips was spotted at a Kaiser Chiefs gig at Temple Newsam. The same concert that saw Patrick Bamford join the likes of Ricky Wilson and Simon Rix on stage, and play along to ‘I Predict A Riot’.
Phillips branded Bamford a legend as he joined Luke Ayling in attending but what was also significant, was that Phillips was spotted in a protective boot. He has undergone surgery on an achilles injury.
Now, Graeme Bailey has exclusively told LeedsUnited.News that the belief is £45m City signing Phillips will recover in August and Leeds remain in the mix for his signature, but are aware they will have to wait.
Kalvin Phillips in action for Leeds United.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
“Everyone’s waiting for his injury return and when he can move. It’s going to be a very cooperative deal from City’s end. I understand Leeds are firmly in the mix. But we have to see how he comes back.
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
“Leeds know who he is, what he is, how he can operate, he offers a whole range of options. I believe the player would love to come back, they’re very confident he’s going to be fully fit by next month.
“He won’t be a Man City player at the end of August. They won’t pay him off so he’ll be loaned out again and I think there’s a deal there to be had, Leeds are monitoring the situation,” Bailey added, on Phillips.
“Come the end of August just when teams are starting the season and need numbers, I think he probably will have quite a few offers and interest from the bottom of the Premier League,” Bailey summarised.
What Man City are requesting for Kalvin Phillips this summer…
City face a similar situation regarding Phillips, as Leeds do with Jack Harrison and Max Wober. Wober was loaned to Werder Bremen by Leeds because if Leeds sold Wober, the fee received would be a PSR loss.
With City signing Phillips for £45m in 2022, half of his six-year City deal is up. But that means, anything below a fee of £22.5m would be a loss for Pep Guardiola’s side and the chances of receiving that are tiny.
Leeds certainly won’t want to pay as much as that for Phillips. City have supposedly set an asking price of £20m for Phillips, but a loan deal is much more likely over the course of the next few weeks.