Leeds United have been heavily linked with Kalvin Phillips and reporter Graeme Bailey has feels he could return regardless of promotion.
Leeds United are in a finely poised fight for promotion from the Championship. They’re top of the table as it stands but level on points with Sheffield United, and Burnley are just two points off LUFC and the Blades too.
However, eyes are already on what the summer window could hold at Elland Road and plenty of players have been linked with moves to the club.
LUFC - Leeds United stadium Elland Road
Image courtesy of: ED SYKES/REUTERS.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, rumours of a Whites reunion with Leeds-born midfielder Kalvin Phillips have circulated. He’ll be back at parent club Manchester City when his Ipswich Town loan expires and a fresh move away from the club is expected.
It had been said promotion to the Premier League would make a Leeds United deal pretty much a formality, but reporter Graeme Bailey expects Phillips to reunite with his boyhood club regardless.
Bailey believes a loan deal would be appealing given Phillips’ wages and it would fit within the LUFC budget regardless of whether they’re in the Premier League or Championship.
“I firmly believe Phillips will return to Leeds,” Bailey told Leeds United News.
“A loan deal would be appealing to them and fit in with their budget – whether that was Premier League or Championship. I fully expect Leeds to get promoted but even if they didn’t I believe he will be at Elland Road next season.”
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Too costly for LUFC?
There’s no doubting that Leeds United are a very well-backed club. They’ve got 49ers Enterprises ready to bankroll a push to get back amongst the top sides in this country.
However, the cost of failing to win promotion would be huge. The Whites would lose some big assets and they would almost certainly have to trim their wage bill going into a third season of Championship football.
LUFC - Leeds United boss Daniel Farke
Image courtesy of: CRAIG BROUGH/REUTERS.
As such, unless it was a miserly portion of Phillips’ hefty Manchester City wages, it feels a little unlikely that he returns regardless of how this season ends.
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If promotion is won some may feel it is a matter of time before a move goes through, but time will tell just what the summer has in store.
The run-in
Leeds United had held a strong position at the top of the Championship table but a couple of disappointing games with dropped points and the maintained form of Sheffield United and Burnley means the top two fight is still very much on.
Eight games remain for Daniel Farke and co to see out their current position. Failure to finish in the top two would be a disaster, though they would have the chance to redeem themselves for last year’s play-off heartbreak.
No one at Elland Road will want to go through that again though. LUFC were beaten by Southampton at Wembley last summer and a repeat of that would be damning.
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