‘Tell me now and I’ll sell you’: Phil Hay details shock moment Leeds star was ‘on verge’ of exit
Kalvin Phillips has opened up on his dilemma as he faced a potential move from Leeds United to the Premier League last summer.
Aston Villa were reported to be interested in a move that would have seen Phillips move for around £20m.
And the Bielsa mainstay has said that he was completely torn about the move.
Talking in The Athletic, Phillips said, “To be honest, I was in a situation where I didn’t know what to do.
“I was basically on the verge of leaving. I was on the verge of saying I wanted to leave, but at the same time I didn’t want to say it.
“Aston Villa had been in touch and they’d gone into the Premier League so I knew I could play in the Premier League just like that. And us losing in the play-offs killed me a bit. It was hard to take.
“I came in one day and Victor (Orta, Leeds’ director of football) said to me, ‘Listen, if you want to leave then just let me know. If you want to leave, tell me right now and I’ll sell you’. I said, ‘I don’t know’. So Victor said, ‘If you don’t know then I’m not selling you’.
“I’d spoken to my mum, and she was more or less set on me leaving. She was gutted about it. I said to my brother, ‘I think I’m going to leave’, and he was gutted too. But he just said, ‘If it’s the right decision for you, then it’s the right decision’. But it wasn’t.”
Wow. Phillips hasn’t talked about this before and for all we knew the Villa news was a transfer rumour that never had any legs.
This shows just how close Phillips came to leaving before changing his mind and signing a new five-year deal with Leeds in September.
We love the way Victor Orta dealt with it and we love that Phillips turned his back on a big-money deal with a team who was in the top-flight.
That could have accelerated his international career but Phillips decided to take one more chance with the Bielsa project.
He’s been a huge part of promotion this season. He’s in the running for Player of the Year and it’s impossible to imagine this season going the same way without Phillips at Elland Road.
He’s been turned into a superstar by Marcelo Bielsa but he’s the engine of the manager’s system.
He’s the one player we don’t have a direct replacement for, with Ben White stepping up to take the defensive midfield slot this season when he’s been out.
Phillips had faith and he made his dream come true at Leeds – and the dream of Leeds fans the world over.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to him – and to Orta for ultimately pushing him to stay.
In other Leeds United news, ‘Get it done Leeds’, ‘Bellingham has nothing on him’ – Some fans thrilled at big transfer update