According to a report by Leedslive, Aston Villa are ready to pay the £60m transfer fee to sign Kalvin Phillips in the summer.
The 26-year-old is speculated to move away from Leeds United in the summer transfer window. Among the rival clubs who are eyeing the midfielder, Aston Villa lead the race as Steven Gerrard looks to strengthen Villa’s midfield.
Kalvin Phillips Impressive Numbers For Leeds United
The defensive midfielder has managed to put up some awe-inspiring numbers on the board – averaging 2 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 0.8 clearances per 90 minutes on all fronts this season (calculated across 31 appearances).
Phillips is prolific in distributing the ball to his teammates, averaging 54.3 passes per game, of which 3.1 are long balls, with a passing accuracy of 85.4%.
The English international stays back while attacking, usually dropping deep between the backline allowing the defenders and full-backs to go wide, which stretches the opposition creating space in the final third. The defensive midfielder is adept at making accurate long ball passes and creative through balls, allowing him to split the opposition creating chances for the forwards in front of the goal.
Kalvin Phillips A Decent Fit For Aston Villa?
Kalvin Phillips is a strong presence in the central areas of the pitch and has the ability to time his tackles proficiently to earn possession back for his team. He usually senses the danger quickly and doesn’t mind putting his foot through the ball when needed. Phillips is primarily a defensive midfielder but with his ability to hold the ball he can also shift to a box-to-box midfielder if needed.
The English international is an accurate passer of the ball as well, so he will fit into Steven Gerrard‘s playing style quite well. With immense physicality, the defensive midfielder is an engine at the heart of the midfield area as he covers a lot of ground, lasting the full 90 mins on the pitch.
At 26, Kalvin Phillips has a lot to offer and his good days are ahead of him. Thus, we can expect him to create an impact instantly if Gerrard gets the deal done.
Leeds United’s star midfielder will bring in a lot to the Villan’s midfield, even helping them challenge for a top-half finish in the Premier League over the next couple of years.
