Danny Murphy tips Liverpool for Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips after Champions League defeat
Liverpool will “surely” be interested in Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips if they strengthen after losing the Champions League final says Danny Murphy.
Real Madrid beat the Reds 1-0 in Paris on Saturday (28 May) to lift the trophy a 14th time, and the former Anfield man thinks midfield is where they could look to add.
Manchester United had looked like the most likely threat to the England international’s future at Elland Road when the Manchester Evening News reported they were “advancing” on a deal in April, but now it is Manchester City who have emerged as more serious, with The Mirror suggesting both Phillips and Leeds would accept a move.
Murphy has added Jurgen Klopp’s side to the equation, as he wrote in the Daily Mail: “I don’t know if either is affordable but a young and hungry top English midfielder like Declan Rice or Kalvin Phillips would surely be of interest if they became available because they’d be able to come and learn off Henderson and be a useful part of the team for years.”
Not helpful
Clearly Murphy isn’t looking at things from a Whites point of view, but for the club’s fans it won’t be good news for another side who can offer more money, Champions League football, and the chance to win trophies to get involved.
It is already a concern that the interest from the Etihad appears to be such a viable option, as it seemed like Premier League survival would be enough to prolong the 26-year-old’s time at the club he loves.
Declan Rice surely would not be affordable because West Ham have adopted a similar policy with their star midfielder as Tottenham did last summer with Harry Kane.
But BBC Sport said City were “unlikely to encounter the same stubbornness from Elland Road” this week, leaving the Whites star as the more viable option.
Although the Hammers obviously had more success this season than Leeds, Rice is not a boyhood fan of the club, so it is odd that there is such openness in Yorkshire to their prized man going, especially in light of the apparently inevitable exit of Raphinha to Barcelona.
If the Premier League’s top two were to go head to head for Phillips it might at least push the price up further than the strikingly low figure of £50million that the club are reportedly willing to accept.
There has to be hope that he might stay unless or until he actually signs elsewhere, but the momentum towards an exit seems to be increasing.
In other Leeds United news, incoming transfer business at the club this summer risks causing long-term side effects with the squad.