In a recent report, Mirror stated that Manchester City are admittedly showing keen interest in Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips to bring him to the Etihad Stadium ahead of the next season.
The English midfielder has been linked to several clubs in the past few months, and City have decided to delve into the mix. The Whites could demand a transfer fee of £50m for Phillips, and the Sky Blues remain more than capable of meeting the demands.
Phillips’ Campaign For Leeds United This Season
The 26-year-old has undergone a difficult campaign at Leeds United, as he remained sidelined for most of his matches due to a hamstring injury. He has only managed to score one goal and create one assist over 22 appearances this season across all competitions.
Phillips hasn’t contributed to the offence significantly as compared to the previous seasons for his boyhood club. However, he has done well defensively to average 2.7 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 0.8 clearances per game in the Premier League. He has also been tidy in distributing the ball after completing 81.8% of his attempted passes in English top-flight football (stats via whoscored).
Is Phillips A Decent Choice For Manchester City Boss Pep Guardiola?
The English international stays back while his team are attacking, usually dropping deep between the backline allowing the defenders and full-backs to go wide. This stretches the opposition, creating space in the final third. The defensive midfielder is adept at making accurate long passes and creative through balls, allowing him to split the opposition and create chances for his teammates in front of the goal.
He has a strong presence in the central areas of the pitch and can time his tackles well to earn back possession of the ball. The midfielder is also skilful enough at playing his way out from inside his half. However, Phillips must add more goals and assists to his game if he wishes to succeed at a top team like Man City.
Fernandinho is moving on, and the Sky Blues are looking for a replacement. Phillips would fit the bill perfectly. At 26, he is currently in his prime and can offer a lot of depth and add more strength to Pep Guardiola‘s midfield.
Furthermore, the England midfield ace could form an excellent partnership with Rodri to offer more control in the centre of the pitch against elite teams. The Mancunian giants hope to win the Champions League and defend their title for a third time on the bounce, and Kalvin Phillips’ addition would be a brilliant move this summer.
