After completing the signing of Erling Haaland on Monday, Manchester City have wasted no time in looking to further strengthen their squad with Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips now their main target.
The Football Insider has reported that a City source has said, “that Phillips is their top target for the remainder of the summer window and an offer has already been tabled for Phillips.”
The article by Wayne Veysey went on to say, “Leeds face a major battle to hang on to the England international, 26, despite his strong links to the club, where he has graduated from the academy to be the poster boy of their best team in two decades.
Coincidentally, both Phillips and Haaland were born in Leeds. Haaland’s father Alfie played for Leeds before moving to Manchester City in the year 2000.
Leeds United Fans Will Not Be Happy if He Made the Switch
Phillips has only played for Leeds and a move to Manchester would upset his relationship with his fans. The rivalry between Man City and Leeds is not as strong as the ‘Roses Rivalry’ between Manchester United and the Whites. Friction goes back to the War of the Roses that saw the House of York face the House of Lancaster for the English throne.
Leeds United proudly display the White Rose of York at the top of their badge while Manchester United have the Red Rose of Lancaster in the middle of their badge. Leeds fans would find it hard to come to terms with Phillips (aka the Yorkshire Pirlo) swapping the White Rose for the Red one.
After this history lesson back to football. Manchester City needs a midfielder as long-term servant Fernandinho is set to leave. Kalvin Phillips is one of England’s top midfielders and should fit into their system perfectly.
Phillips has seen his England teammates win Premier League and Champions League titles and may fancy a bit of that, especially after his club Leeds just survived relegation on the final day of last season.
#MCFC could raise more than £200m through sales this year (Jan 2022 window gone and this summer) as they shake up the squad in the pursuit of more silverware https://t.co/l7y1si3LF0
— James Ducker (@TelegraphDucker) June 14, 2022
It Would Be Another Statement Made by Pep Guardiola and Manchester City
The signing would send shivers down the spine of Liverpool and Chelsea as City have strengthened well already with the signing of Haaland.
With Julián Álvarez joining up with the squad after his loan back to River Plate and potentially Phillips as well, Pep Guardiola’s side is starting to look like an unstoppable force.
However, he is a local man and may want to stay at Leeds his whole career and become a one-club man. Players like Mark Noble and Francesco Totti have gained a huge respect for playing their whole careers at just one club. This is certainly something for Phillips to think about, as at the moment he is loved at Leeds.
He is currently a starter for England alongside Declan Rice in midfield and starred at Euro 2020. He has the ability to star for them but it would take time to get used to their system.
With the World Cup in Qatar, it may be a safer option to stay at Leeds to make sure he gets game time to keep his place in Gareth Southgate’s team.