Sky pundit raises ‘huge point’ for Kalvin Phillips to snub Manchester City for Leeds United
Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips should stay at the club rather than move to Manchester City because he is already in the England team, says Alan McInally.
The Premier League champions have emerged as the prime destination for the 26-year-old, with the club reluctantly willing to sell him and the player unable to turn down the opportunity (Mirror).
But despite Fernandinho leaving the Etihad, Sky Sports pundit McInally thinks the Whites midfielder would still be stuck behind Rodri, and since he is still being picked by Gareth Southgate despite a nightmare season at Elland Road he should stay where he is.
McInally told Footy Accumulators, in a clip posted on their Twitter page: “Is he a better player than Rodri? I’m not sure.
“He’s a wonderful, wonderful football player but I’m sorry I don’t see City going for him.
“With Rodri there I don’t see him being a starter, I genuinely don’t.
“We’re forgetting one huge point here. Leeds United are a Premier League football team. He got into the England team playing for Leeds United, and Leeds will want to make their squad stronger.
“So does he have to move? Not particularly, because if he can play for Leeds, with the season they had, and still be involved with the England squad then there’s no real emergency to move.
“There will be teams who are wanting to try to get him away from Leeds but does he need to go? Not particularly, because he’s going to play every game as long as he’s fit at Leeds.”
Valid point
It is the sort of argument that Whites fans will be making up and down the country, and the case study of Jack Grealish is sure to be instrumental.
The former Aston Villa captain made a £100million move to City last summer yet is not a regular starter.
He has played in the Champions League, got a league winners’ medal, and is surely being paid a lot more though, so it will likely come down to how much those draws convince Phillips.
Grealish wasn’t even an England starter at Villa Park, while the United man has been for some time, and Southgate has picked him again straight away for the upcoming games despite missing most of the season through injury.
So his status as an international regular seems to be set since the club stayed in the Premier League on the final day.
There are suggestions that the new contract with the Whites that has been in the offing all season will struggle to reach the level he is worth without the new investment from the 49ers, so it might be a matter of whether he is willing to wait until that comes.
If he was content before the interest from City the grass is not necessarily always greener, so if he weighs up his options staying may still make sense, at least for the short term.
In other Leeds United news, events at the weekend have placed a major hurdle in the way of one of the club’s transfer pursuits.