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Danny Mills flips lid over 'bizarre' Leeds United transfer developments after £55m Raphinha news
Former left-back Danny Mills is baffled that Leeds United could get less than £100million for two of their best players in Kalvin Phillips in Raphinha.
The Guardian reported on Friday night (24 June) that Manchester City have agreed to sign England midfielder Phillips, 26, for a fee worth £42million plus add-ons.
On Tuesday night (28 June), The Athletic broke that Chelsea are “close” to agreeing a deal with Leeds that sees them sign winger Raphinha, 25, for “a price north of £55million”.
Mills is stunned by the low fees Leeds are reportedly accepting for their two stand-out players.
“Everyone knows that Raphinha wants to go, I don’t think that’s in question and he will go. It’s just a case of when, to who and for how much,” Mills said on talkSPORT on Tuesday (28 June), as shown in a clip on the radio station’s official Twitter account.
“You would think that three teams coming in for him would make it a bit of an auction and would put the price up a little bit.
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“When Leeds were adamant in the January transfer window when there was that sort of false-ish speculation that West Ham were interested in Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha, Leeds were going, ‘nope, you’re getting nothing for less than £60million’.
“They’ve now let Kalvin Phillips go for £42million, which I find bizarre. And then they’re going to let Raphinha go for £55million.
“I mean, okay, you’ve got £90million in but you’ve let your two best players leave the football club. And also, I’d say over the last two seasons they’ve been two of the most influential players in that side.”
He added: “There are some massive, massive holes to fill for Leeds.”
Undersold
With Raphinha, it says it’ll be over £55million and Fabrizio Romano has also added that Leeds could get up to £65million if add-ons are considered.
With Raphinha, we cannot argue as that £65million figure is the widely reported transfer demand of the Whites so they’ve managed to get what they’ve asked for.
However, with Phillips, letting him go for less than £50million is criminal.
Phillips is irreplaceable.
It’s hard to compare Phillips and Raphinha – it’s like comparing apples and oranges. However, Victor Orta has already proven he can sign a top-class winger who can shine in the Premier League and turn a massive profit.
Has Orta proven he can sign a top-quality deep-lying midfielder? No, he hasn’t.
Phillips has been so key for Leeds in the last few years that replacing him is impossible.
Marcelo Bielsa would have even struggled to get this side performing if he lost Phillips. All you have to do is look at Leeds’ results without the England star in their midfield.
We wish Phillips and Raphinha all the best in their respective moves away from Elland Road.
But Andrea Radrizzani, Angus Kinnear and Orta should have done a lot better than this.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites are trying to “trick” their top target into signing for them this summer.