Sheffield United confirm statement Kalvin Phillips transfer signing after Manchester City helping hand
Sheffield United have confirmed the statement signing of 31-cap England international Kalvin Phillips in a deal that just beat the 7pm deadline tonight. The former Leeds United man joins the Blades on a loan deal until the end of the current season.
The deal came around at the 11th hour and after negotiations between both parties, Manchester City agreed to subsidise the majority of Phillips’ wages to make the deal possible. He is understood to have been keen to make a move back to his native Yorkshire to kickstart his career.
He made a £45m move to City in 2022 but was unable to replicate the influence he had had at Elland Road and subsequently was loaned out to West Ham United and Ipswich Town. But his return to his home county is a real statement of intent from the Blades as they look to climb the table in what remains of the Championship season.
A United statement confirming the move read: “Born in Leeds, Phillips progressed through the ranks at his hometown club, making his senior debut in the Championship in 2015. He scored his first senior goal in his second appearance in a home defeat to Cardiff and would make a further 10 appearances in the following 2015-16 campaign.
“The 2016-17 season would prove to be his major breakthrough season, becoming a regular, making 40 appearances in total as Leeds narrowly missed out on the play-offs. He was a key member of the side which reached the Championship play-offs in 2018-19 which laid the foundation for winning the Championship title the following season when he was again a mainstay in the Leeds midfield.
“His form was getting him noticed, and he was called up by England for the first time in August 2020, earning his first cap in the September in a Nations League clash against Denmark before he'd played a Premier League game.
“Adapting to top flight and international football with ease, Phillips inspired Leeds to a ninth-place finish. For England his displays in Euro 2020 caught the eye as the Three Lions were denied in the final by Italy at Wembley.
“In 2022 he signed for Manchester City and during his time at the Etihad he was part of the squad which won the Premier League, Champions League, Super Cup, FA Cup and Club World Cup. In recent seasons Phillips, nicknamed the Yorkshire Pirlo, has enjoyed loan spells in the Premier League at West Ham United and Ipswich Town.”
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