New Kalvin Phillips Documentary shows Leeds United risky transfer approach under Radrizzani
In a new documentary, ‘The Road to City’ released on Amazon Prime Kalvin Phillips’ rise through the ranks at Leeds United and his transfer to Manchester City is shown, including the boardroom decision to allow their academy graduate to leave Elland Road.
Phillips departed his boyhood club last summer for an initial fee of £42m as Pep Guardiola looked to reinforce his midfield depth in pursuit of the Champions League and Premier League defence. Still, the new footage shows it was a tough call for those in charge at the Whites.
There is a very clear difference between the risk vs reward transfer approach and the aggressive approach promised by new owners the 49ers and it shows how there has been a complete change in work at Elland Road following relegation.
In the documentary, then-chairman Andrea Radrizzani said, as quoted by LeedsLive: “I would never sell Kalvin. But, I think the money could come in at £65million or £70million.
“With £65million we should talk to the manager and Victor Orta because you could buy another good striker, two strong midfielders. But I don’t know, it’s a difficult call.
“In my view, we need another striker. With my heart, I want to keep him, but the best thing is to sell him. I see Kalvin as a captain for the next five years, but it’s a very complicated decision.”
The documentary shows that those in charge were worried about the possibility of losing value if Phillips were to get injured and instead opted to sell and use the incoming money to build the rest of the squad and retain the Premier League place, which didn’t pan out as hoped.
An apparent change in mindset
This summer Leeds have already completely changed from this mindset, although they want to protect their assets as of yet they haven’t lost any of their biggest names, bar Rodrigo, following Premier League relegation. Instead, they want to keep their best names to give themselves the best chance of returning to the top flight.
Already they have set their prices high for the likes of Illian Meslier and Wilfried Gnonto and although both could still yet depart Elland Road, you get the feeling it will be entirely on Leeds’ terms, rather than letting emotions run proceedings.
The other difference is that the incoming business in this window, although only just beginning, feels much more considered and definite. Ethan Ampadu represents excellent value for money in an area of frailty last season while goalkeeper target Karl Darlow has enough experience under his belt to be more than good enough in the second tier.
Although there is a lot of hindsight in criticising Leeds’ business last year, they ended up taking just as many risks in how they invested the Phillips’ money last year as they would have done if they had risked him picking up an injury. If they end up stranded in the Championship once more, it may even be a financially worse decision for the Whites.
In other Leeds United news, an unknown player has shared the ‘chaos’ that unfolded during their 2014 pre-season tour