Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is claimed to be pushing for a move back to Leeds United this summer, and his parent club are happy to take a significant loss on him.
Leeds have eight games in the Championship promotion race to worry about before considering which transfers they might want to conduct.
Despite that, reports are rife and the Leeds scouting team are likely to already be scouring the continent for ideal signings for whichever division the club end up in.
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Kalvin Phillips to Leeds: Midfielder “pushing” for move, City happy to take loss
(Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Kalvin Phillips’ whereabouts this summer is becoming more and more of a hot topic, with Ipswich Town looking nailed for the drop and therefore leading the midfielder equally certain not to be staying there on a permanent basis.
The £45million Manchester City man is now reported by Football Insider to be “pushing” for a move back to his boyhood club Leeds this summer.
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Alongside Phillips being eager to swap the Etihad for Elland Road, the report also states that the Citizens are willing to take a “substantial loss” on the 29-year-old.
The England international is still contracted until the summer of 2028, and while any fee lower than £45million would represent a loss on face value, Man City would require a fee of around £22.5million to break even on PSR terms this summer.
With his transfer fee amortised over a six-year deal, Phillips’ transfer is worth £7.5million a season, and he will be halfway through his contract by the end of this season.
Phillips to Leeds makes little sense outside of emotion
If Phillips wasn’t a Leeds hero from the Marcelo Bielsa era, and he had no connection with the club, not one fan would be looking at him as someone worth signing if we’re promoted – perhaps proven by the fact there’s no clamour for Sam Morsy or Jens Cajuste to join Leeds.
He was outstanding for us, but it’s nearly four years since he was playing his best football, and that is a big red flag.
Man City are still going to want to break even on Phillips on PSR terms, which means Leeds will have to stump up £20million-plus for someone who is absolutely not worth it at this moment.