“Peacocks” record departure?
Three wins, 9-0 goals. The latest balance sheet from Premier League club Aston Villa also wrested a positive conclusion from coach Steven Gerrard: “We’re starting to look like an unscrupulous team,” said the 41-year-old, who took over the “Villans” in November 2021 in 16th place in the table and had since led to secure midfield. Results that also please club owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. The sporting trend coupled with the winter transfers of players such as Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho has created a spirit of optimism around the club, with many dreaming of Europe. While Gerrard would like Coutinho to sign on, the club has reported on the portal “The Athletic‘ said he once again put out feelers to Leeds United international Kalvin Phillips.
According to this, the Villas squad, in which, in addition to the loans Coutinho and Robin Olsen, only the contract of the 36-year-old left-back Ashley Young expires at the end of the season, is to be upgraded in the summer with a view to higher sporting ambitions. The focus is on a transfer for the defensive midfield, the immediate target is 26-year-old Phillips, who is currently one of the ten most valuable players in the world in this position.
According to reports, Aston Villa had already tried to get the services of the legal footer in 2019, but Leeds United had repeatedly blocked an offer of around 24 million euros. At the time, the “Peacocks” had narrowly failed to get promoted to the Premier League under coach Marcelo Bielsa, but they still managed to keep Phillips, who was already aspiring at the time, and provided them with a five-year contract.
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Kalvin Phillips could be within Aston Villa’s reach if Leeds are relegated
A year later, Leeds managed to get promoted, and the team then finished their first Premier League year in ninth place. However, the Whites are currently in relegation troubles with 23 points from 28 games – it is extremely unlikely that national player Phillips would be retained if they missed out on relegation. According to “The Athletic”, the door would be open for Aston Villa in this case with a corresponding offer.
The latter should make the national player a record departure for the “Peacocks” in a transfer: rumors of a 72 million offer from Manchester United were already circulating last autumn, and no professional in Leeds had ever brought in a sum of this magnitude in a sale.
Phillips has only made 12 appearances this season and the midfielder has been suffering from a hamstring injury since December. In all, the Leeds-born professional made 226 competitive appearances for United, scoring 14 goals (13 assists). Under Bielsa, who has since been released, he became a national player in 2020, and during last year’s European Championship he was an undisputed regular in the ranks of the “Three Lions”, who reached the final but lost to Italy there.
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