Leeds United: Fabrizio Romano shares transfer update on West Ham United loanee Kalvin Phillips
Fabrizio Romano has shared an update on the future of West Ham loanee Kalvin Phillips amid links with Leeds United and Fulham.
Leeds have been tipped to make a surprise move for the former Elland Road fan favourite should they earn a return to the Premier League.
The 28-year-old’s career has badly stagnated since joining Manchester City, while his loan with West Ham has been nothing short of terrible.
However, Romano insists any talk of a return to Leeds in the summer is premature at this stage.
“From what I understand, all reports linking the player with the likes of Leeds and Fulham are really premature as nothing has been decided and nothing is concrete,” Romano said in his Daily Briefing column [8 April].
“This is not kind of deal for April or May; Leeds’ full focus is not on the market but on the Championship now as they chase promotion back to the Premier League.”
Kalvin Phillips valuation as Leeds United circle
Phillips cannot be blamed for making the move to Man City when he did, having proved himself in the Premier League with Leeds and at international level with England.
However, for one reason or another, he simply has not been given a look-in under Pep Guardiola and his future surely lies away from the Etihad Stadium.
It is a safe assumption to make that West Ham will not look to make the loan deal permanent in the summer, meaning Phillips will have to hope another club comes in for him.
The big problem is that it will likely take a fee of around £30million or more to sign him, which is a huge sum when you consider how little he has done over the past two years.
Still, if Leeds do indeed earn a return to the top flight, it is one worth considering. At the same time, for a similar price or indeed cheaper, there are players who simply look better suited to playing under Daniel Farke right now.
For now, let’s just focus on finishing in the top two and see what happens in the summer.
In other Leeds United news, a Whites first-team regular had a “stern word” with one of his team-mates in the loss to Coventry City.
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