According to a report by Football Insider, Leeds United are linked with Rangers Glen Kamara as Steven Gerrard is ‘braced for major offers‘.
Kamara could provide competition for Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips, however, the 23-year-old Whites midfielder has recently been linked with a move to the Premier League, meaning that Kamara could be more a replacement than competition, should the rumours come true.
Kamara has been playing UEFA Europa League level lately, meaning he’s had a huge platform to shine. Gerrard obviously rates the 24-year-old highly, playing him for 90 minutes in his last six fixtures. The Finnish midfielder has an amazing average pass success rate of 91.9% in the Europa League.
When taking Phillips’ passing figures into consideration, his appear to pale in comparison to those of the Light Blue’s man, as he has managed to achieve a success rate of just 81.3% in his 16 Championship fixtures to date (WhoScored).
Could Glen Kamara replace Kalvin Phillips?
With Phillips being linked to Premier League clubs, perhaps this apparent target is someone Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds believe can take the Englishman’s place. They both play in similar positions, although Kamara is slightly taller at 181cm compared to Phillips’ 178cm.
The Rangers man is also, arguably, more experienced than the 23-year-old, with outings in European contests and featuring 12 times for his national side this season.
When you compare the average ratings, Phillips dominates the Finn, with him averaging a WhoScored rating of 7.41/10 and Kamara only managing 6.76/10 across all competitions.
Indeed, his work defensively is something that could be missed, as the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ has managed to achieve an average of 3.9 tackles per game, although the Finland international, perhaps has shown he has the ability as he has managed to complete 2.5 per game at the national level.
Verdict
If both men stay at the club then this could be a very healthy rivalry for the pair of them, however, if this is a safety net for if Phillips is taken, then Kamara is a solid replacement and he’s proving that on one of the biggest stages in European football.