Kalvin Phillips transfer latest: Leeds United return 'discussed', midfielder 'desperate' for Elland Road move
Reports have resurfaced surrounding the future of former Leeds United favourite Kalvin Phillips.
Leeds United have been freshly linked with interest in their former midfielder Kalvin Phillips ahead of a summer in which they will be recruiting for the Premier League.
Phillips was among a huge number of former players to congratulate Leeds earlier this week after automatic promotion from the Championship was confirmed at the second time of asking. Daniel Farke’s side showed absolutely no sign of pressure in thumping Stoke City 6-0, with the German and his players remaining inside Elland Road as Sheffield United lost at Burnley.
That result secured the Whites’ place in the top-flight next season and kicked the transfer rumour mill into gear, with Elland Road recruitment chiefs now clear on which division they will be recruiting for. And inevitable speculation has resurfaced surrounding the possible return of Phillips to Leeds ahead of Leeds’ return to the Premier League.
Kalvin Phillips’ Leeds United return ‘discussed’
The Daily Mail swiftly mentioned Phillips’ name in a wider report on Leeds’ summer plans across recruitment and stadium development. The outlet claimed an Elland Road return had been ‘discussed’, with recruitment chiefs understanding the need for experience going into their 2025/26 survival bid.
Central midfield appears to be an area Leeds are keen to strengthen, with reports of interest in Borussia Monchengladbach’s Julian Weigl - a link the Daily Mail also mentioned - and Hidemasa Morita of Sporting CP. A key difference between them and Phillips is the latter will likely be allowed to leave current club Manchester City with little resistance, given his unsuccessful loan spells at West Ham and Ipswich Town.
Whether Leeds can, or would want to, meet City’s financial demands for Phillips is another question, with funds not unlimited despite the future riches of Premier League revenue. Farke will also require reinforcements across his squad and so serious consideration would need to be given to spending a rumoured £20-30million on one player.
Phillips’ stance on Leeds transfer
Since heading across the Pennines in a £42million deal almost three years ago, Phillips has endured a difficult time at City, with little relief at either West Ham or Ipswich and the loss of his England place. The 29-year-old has struggled with a number of injury issues but also admitted earlier this season he’d lost the fire in his belly as confidence fell through the floor.
And so it’s little surprise that, according to The Mirror, Phillips is ‘desperate’ to get back playing and do it for Leeds, where he last enjoyed a consistent run of form. The former Thorp Arch academy graduate is thought to be pushing the prospect of a move back to West Yorkshire and himself suggested promotion last year could have been the catalyst for a comeback.
“Obviously I wanted Leeds to get promoted,” he told the East Anglian Daily Times in November. “It’s a club very close to my heart. Even if Leeds had been promoted and Ipswich had maybe come up in the play-offs then it still would have been a very close call as to where I’d have gone because I just love the story of Ipswich.”
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