OPINION
Norwich are reportedly plotting a £12million bid to sign Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, and that should be treated as bad news by the Elland Road faithful.
According to the Daily Mail, Leeds are “vulnerable” to offers for their younger players in the summer transfer window after Marcelo Bielsa failed to win promotion to the Premier League despite an impressive debut season in English football.
It is understood that after winning the Championship and promotion to the top-flight, Norwich will operate on a small budget in the summer but are still considering a £12million swoop for Phillips.
The 23-year-old has been one of Leeds’ best players this season, appearing 46 times across all competitions as the Whites finished third in the Championship before being defeat by Derby in the play-offs.
According to stats by WhoScored, Phillips had an 82.1% pass completion rate in the Championship, which is only bettered by Adam Forshaw (88.2%), who didn’t play as much, and Pontus Jansson (85.6%), who plays in defence, out of the players who made 15 or more league starts.
Although he is a midfielder by trade, Bielsa has also played Phillips at centre-back on the occasion this season and that has paid off sometimes with the 23-year-old being the club’s most consistent tackler of the ball, completing 2.6 tackles per match in the Championship.
Only Pablo Hernandez (1.3) completed more dribbles per match on average than Phillips (1.2) and centre-backs Liam Cooper (2.5) and Jansson (2.3) are the only two players to intercept the ball more often than the deep-lying midfielder (1.3).
It proves that Phillips is a midfielder who can do everything, both on and off the ball and losing him in the summer will be a massive loss for Leeds and create a void that they may struggle to fill.
In the Championship, £12million is a lot of money to turn down as well, especially for a club like Leeds that is by no means the most financially-blessed in the division.
If Norwich come calling then it’s going to be tough for Leeds to keep hold of their star man, so the fans should definitely fear for the worst with the newly-promoted club planning a move.