Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard could be in for a pretty good summer if his club can pull off the signing of Kalvin Phillips.
According to The Times, Villa could spend up to £60m on the Englishman in the upcoming transfer market as they try and lure him away from Leeds United.
As that deal would likely be a huge coup for the Villans, TIF has decided to take a look at the ramifications it could have on the rest of the team.
Notably, Philippe Coutinho and Douglas Luiz could be affected in a major fashion.
Bye-bye Coutinho
A lot of the talk surrounding the club at the moment is in relation to Coutinho. In the January transfer market, Villa went out and signed the Brazilian on loan.
Since then, it’s fair to say he’s had a fairly positive impact. Indeed, he has stolen plenty of headlines with four goals and three assists in only 10 Premier League games. If he continues with his good form, there’s every chance the club will want to sign him.
They would have the opportunity to do that for a fee reported to be £33.4m. While that figure is not astronomical, when you factor in the potential £60m on Phillips, you can imagine the strain that could put on the club’s finances.
On top of that, Villa only pay 65 per cent of Coutinho’s salary for now. If he joined permanently, that figure would likely rise. And if Leeds want to offer Phillips a £10m pay-packet (as reported by The Times), they may have to decide between the two.
Depending on the club’s wealth, a move for Phillips could rule out a permanent deal for Coutinho.
So long Luiz
If money is tight, one way to ease the strain could be to offload one of the club’s key assets. With that in mind, a summer move could spell the end for Luiz.
First of all, as both players play in the middle of the park – and with John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey already there to contend with – there may not be room for all four in Gerrard’s plans.
Should Aston Villa sign Kalvin Phillips for £60m?
Yes
No
Beyond that practicality, Luiz may be the man they have to cash in on this summer. Indeed, according to reports from BirminghamLive, the Brazilian is not looking likely to sign a new contract. With only 12 months left on his deal, it would make sense to get him out the door now to make way for the Leeds man.
Luiz likely won’t be sold £60m, but he could fetch a tidy sum while also easing the club of some wages. He may well be a necessary sacrifice if the club want to bring in Phillips this summer.
Whatever happens, it seems rather unlikely that Gerrard will have Phillips, Coutinho and Luiz in his squad next season – but never say never.
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