Newcastle are interested in signing Leeds and England midfielder Kalvin Phillips this summer.
Early career
Phillips played for local club Wortley from 2003 to 2010 before joining Leeds United's academy aged 14. He progressed through the club's youth ranks and signed his first professional deal with the club in the summer of 2014, retaining him for the 2014–15 season.
During the 2014–15 season, Phillips became the captain of the development and under-18 teams. Phillips joined the first team for the trip to Sunderland in the FA Cup third round on 4 January 2015; he was unused substitute in a 1–0 defeat. On 30 March 2015, Leeds Academy coach Jason Blunt revealed that he felt the form of Phillips for the under-18 and development teams would see Phillips become a future first team fans favourite. Phillips made further appearances on the bench for the first team in league matches over the following months before making his professional debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 4–3 defeat on 6 April 2015.Along with Sam Byram, Charlie Taylor, Alex Mowatt and Lewis Cook, Phillips was the latest graduate of a promising group of academy players to regularly feature under former youth manager Neil Redfearn in the 2014–15 season.
On 11 April 2015, Phillips retained his position in the Leeds starting 11, making his home debut against Cardiff City at Elland Road. Phillips marked the match with his first senior goal in only his second appearance, although the match finished in a 2–1 defeat to Cardiff.At the end of the season, he was offered and accepted a new two-year contract.
On 31 July 2015, Phillips was given the number 27 shirt for the upcoming 2015–16 season.However, with Redfearn replaced as head coach during the summer, Phillips made just 10 league appearances over the course of the season under head coaches Uwe Rösler and then Steve Evans.
2016–2019
In June 2016, only days after the appointment of new head coach Garry Monk, Phillips was offered a new three-year contract at Leeds.On 23 June, Phillips signed the new 3-year contract extension to stay at the club until the summer of 2019. On 27 August 2016, Phillips scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season, with a long-range free kick against Nottingham Forest in a 3–1 defeat. After an injury to captain Liam Bridcutt in September 2016, Phillips, alongside Eunan O'Kane or Ronaldo Vieira, established himself as an important player in Leeds' central midfield.
Phillips' impressive form for Leeds saw him win the Championship Young Player of the Month Award for October 2016. On 9 December 2016, Phillips was given his first professional red card after giving away a penalty in a 2–0 defeat against then league leaders Brighton & Hove Albion by turning away a goal-bound shot with his arm, the penalty was converted by Glenn Murray.
On 6 August 2017, the opening day of the 2017–18 Championship season, Phillips scored a brace to ensure Leeds beat Bolton Wanderers 3–2. On 9 September he scored his third goal of the season in the match against Burton Albion.
His fifth of the season came on 27 October in a 2–1 defeat in the Yorkshire derby against Sheffield United. He started the season partnering O'Kane in the centre of Leeds' midfield, although after a good start to the season, Leeds suffered a lack of form prior to the dismissal of head coach Thomas Christiansen in February 2018. Phillips and O'Kane found themselves in and out the team with Vieira given more opportunities and the arrival of Adam Forshaw in January 2018. Phillips ended the season with seven goals and three assists, which represented the best scoring season of his career so far.
On 19 July 2018, Phillips revealed he had been training as a centre-back and a deep-lying playmaker ahead of the 2018–19 season, as part of new head coach Marcelo Bielsa's tactics. As the season started, he was deployed as the holding midfielder in a 4–1–4–1 formation.
Phillips was utilised as a deep-lying defensive midfielder for Leeds under Bielsa, playing as a centre-back if the team lined up in a three-man defence. In October 2018, his impressive form in his new positions under Bielsa's management saw Phillips briefly linked with a possible call up to Gareth Southgate's England national team. After a knee injury to captain Liam Cooper on 1 December 2018 in a 1–0 win against Sheffield United,[34] Phillips deputised several matches playing as an outright centre-back until Cooper's return in mid-January. After returning to his defensive midfielder position, he scored his first goal of the season in Leeds' 1–1 draw against Middlesbrough on 9 February 2019, netting the equaliser in the 11th minute of injury time. In March 2019, he was selected to the 2018–19 Championship EFL Team of the Season[37] and on 4 May 2019, Phillips was named the Yorkshire Evening Post Player of the Year for the 2018–19 season. During the 2018–19 season, Phillips made 46 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal, after Leeds finished the regular season in third place.Leeds qualified for the play-offs, and Phillips started the fixtures against sixth-placed Derby County.
Despite Leeds taking a 1–0 win away into the home leg, Leeds lost 4–2 in the second leg, with Leeds down to 10 men after the red card of Gaetano Berardi, and saw Derby progress to the final against Aston Villa 4–3 on aggregate
Newcastle United are among the clubs prepared to rival Aston Villa for Kalvin Phillips this summer.
The publication report that Phillips’ future is very much ‘up in the air’ amid the risk of Leeds being relegated.
Talks between the player and the club over a new deal have also stalled, adding to the uncertainty around the plummeting price tag.
A ‘recruitment source’ has told FI that Newcastle and Villa are ‘leading the race’ for Phillips, having each identified him as a ‘top target’.
They currently have the edge on Manchester United in the battle for his signature.
Phillips, England’s reigning player of the year, could form part of an excellent midfield trio at St James’ Park.
In theory, he may play alongside Newcastle’s newly-crowned POTS Joelinton and £37.9million January addition Bruno Guimaraes, who has himself been dubbed ‘different class’ by journalist John Gibson.
Given Phillips’ credentials – he was also named in The Guardian’s Euro 2020 Team of the Tournament – this is the kind of trio that can elevate Newcastle to another level.
This is a player who left Xavi ‘extremely impressed’ after his ‘superb‘ showings on the run to the Wembley final, and so signing him at a 50% discount would be something to celebrate on Tyneside.
The 26-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from Elland Road this summer, regardless of whether Jesse Marsch's side survive the drop.
The Yorkshire side grabbed a late equaliser at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, with the 1-1 draw lifting them outside of the relegation zone for the time being.
However, Phillips may well have played his last home game for his boyhood club according to Football Insider, who report that Newcastle and Villa are leading the race to sign the England international.
The report suggests that both clubs are putting together a deal to sign the Leeds academy product in the upcoming transfer window, and that they are supposedly better placed than Manchester United, who are said to hold a strong interest in the midfielder.
Phillips has endured an injury-hit campaign for Leeds this season, featuring just 19 times in the Premier League, taking his tally to 234 appearances in all competitions for the club.
