Chelsea eye Leeds United man Kalvin Phillips as summer alternative to West Ham star Declan Rice
Leeds United face a tougher task to keep hold of Kalvin Phillips this summer as Chelsea are now interested, according to Simon Phillips at Chelsea News.
Manchester City are currently at the front of the queue to take the England international away from Elland Road, while cross-city rivals Manchester United have been credited with an interest in recent months as well.
The potential for a new contract to stay with the Whites for at least another season remains, but movement towards the exit appears to be gathering momentum, with City “readying a bid” [90min], and the club reluctantly willing to sell [Mirror].
Now, with their take-over complete following sanctions on Roman Abramovich, it appears that there is interest from Stamford Bridge as well.
Phillips writes that according to information given to him: “The Blues also admire Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips, and he is on the list of defensive midfielders they are looking at this summer.”
They are thought to favour a move for West Ham’s Declan Rice but the Hammers have put a £150million price on him which appears to be dissuading suitors.
Circling
Although the incoming business is looking solid so far this summer, the outgoings are arguably of greater concern to fans.
Heading into the window it was presumed that attacking Raphinha would be on his way to Barcelona whether the club stayed up or not but Premier League survival should keep local boy Phillips in place.
Instead the Brazilian’s move to the Camp Nou has stalled, although activity at Old Trafford could be set to change that, and it is an apparent run on the midfield lynchpin that is gathering pace.
Chelsea are armed with cash to spend during the window as the new Todd Boehly regime looks to get off to a fast start, although it is unclear how they will spend it compared to the previous owner.
At first glance it would appear that a move to Stamford Bridge makes little sense for Phillips with N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic all in place there, but the former pair are both north of 30 and entering the last year of their contracts.
That makes it an opportunity potentially akin to the one at the Etihad, where Rodri looks the prospective starter but there is Champions League football and plenty of money.
While the mooted move to Manchester United appears to have been written off due to the player’s awareness of the rivalry between the sides, it is hardly cordial between Leeds and Chelsea, so he may not be interested in going there either.
The threat of an exit to Stamford Bridge is probably somewhere in between that of similar moves to the two Manchester sides, and while it is not a huge concern at this point it is not exactly reassuring news for fans.
In other Leeds United news, a target that the club are leading the race for has been hailed as twice the player of a current Elland Road star who made the same move.