Manchester City have reached an agreement to sign Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips following fruitful conversations between both teams, this is according to reports.
The defending Premier League champions plan to spend £42 million, plus an additional £3 million in bonuses.
From the commencement of this summer transfer window, the England international has been Man City’s top midfield target.
Following the purchase of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund, he will be the club’s second significant summer signing.
Since becoming a professional in 2014, Phillips has only played at Leeds United.
Manchester City have reached verbal agreement with Leeds to sign Kalvin Phillips on permanent deal, as per @David_Ornstein. Talks at final stages. 🚨🔵 #MCFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 24, 2022
Leeds will receive £42m guaranteed fee plus add-ons. Work in progress on player’s contract. Next top target: Cucurella. pic.twitter.com/I2e5jwLPff
Since the team’s promotion back to the Premier League, the England international has had an impact on the Elland Road side in more than 200 games.
The 26-year-old is presently on vacation and was expected to return for Leeds’ preseason training on July 4 but that might not happen since City are on the verge of grabbing his signature.
His move to Manchester City might be finalized by next week if negotiations make headway.
Kalvin Phillips, who is he?
English professional footballer Kalvin Mark Phillips (born 2 December 1995) plays midfield for Leeds United as well as the England national team. He might end up at Manchester City this summer.
Phillips, a graduate of the Leeds United academy, debuted for the first team in 2015. Phillips played for the Marcelo Bielsa-coached Leeds club that won the Championship during the 2019–20 season. After his outstanding 2021-2022 performance, Phillips made his England national team debut and was a member of the team that finished second at UEFA Euro 2020.
Will Kalvin Philips fit into Manchester City style of play?
Prior to the start of the 2018–19 season, Marcelo Bielsa changed Phillips from a box-to-box or central midfielder to a defensive midfielder.
He is regarded as a “lynchpin” because of his wide variety of quick, accurate short passes, long ball distribution, and ability to launch assaults while attending to his defensive responsibilities.
As described by Marcelo Bielsa, “He excels at gaining possession of the ball and moving it to a better location. He does a great job protecting the team when our full-backs attack. He is also excellent at defending when we are outnumbered.” Under Bielsa, Phillips was also made to play center back.
Leeds fans dubbed Phillips “Yorkshire Pirlo” in honor of Andrea Pirlo due to his similar style of play.
He was praised for being “excellent at identifying little pockets of space that turn a simple passing move into a deadly onslaught” as evident in his performance for England against Croatia at Euro 2020.
Honours
Leeds
- United EFL Championship: 2019–20
England
- UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2020
Individual
- EFL Young Player of the Month: October 2016
- EFL Championship Team of the Year: 2018–19
- PFA Team of the Year: 2019–20 Championship
- England Men’s Player of the Year: 2020–21
