Michael Dawson was shocked that Kalvin Phillips is on just £25,000 a week at Leeds United after Jeff Stelling shared the information on Sky Sports.
Phillips has evolved into one of the Whites’ most important players in recent years. The 26-year-old has been with the Yorkshire outfit throughout their ascent from the Championship to the Premier League, and his performances amongst the elite have even earned him regular call-ups to the England squad – he started all of the Three Lions’ matches at Euro 2020 as they reached the final before losing on penalties to Italy.
The midfielder has been linked with a move away from Elland Road, and Dawson believes the club need to improve Phillips’ pay packet if they want to keep him at the club. He said in response to Stelling: “Well, he needs to quadruple that. After the Euros, you think surely they have gone and said ‘we are giving you a new contract’.
“That just makes people unhappy. He is in the starting XI for England every single week. If he’s fit, him and Declan Rice play. So that surprises me if that’s right.
“Knock on the door ‘if you are saying I am a £60 million worth of a player’. Then that has to be a £100k-a-week player. It has to be – that surprises me, that. I think it’s shocked us all, that.”
Orta and Radrizzani should be embarrassed
Quite frankly, it is ludicrous that one of the team’s best players is not being remunerated in the way he should – relative to his teammates and the industry, of course. Players such as Junior Firpo, Daniel James and Diego Llorente, who have all signed for the club within the last two years, all take home considerably more every week than Phillips, despite their impact arguably not matching that of the England midfielder.
You only need to look at Leeds’ record with and without Phillips this campaign to understand his importance. They have lost just three of the 13 games he has featured in, compared to 12 out of 18 in his absence. It has been suggested that Aston Villa are willing to offer up to £60m to capture his services – such a player usually earns far more than what Phillips currently does.
Should Phillips be paid more?
No
Yes
It is not as though Victor Orta and Andrea Radrizzani have not had ample opportunity to increase Phillips’ salary. His last contract extension was almost three years ago – and since then, Leeds have been promoted and finished in the top half of the Premier League. Alongside bringing in fancy new signings such as Rodrigo and James, the hierarchy should have been taking care of one of the building blocks of their success.
Phillips currently has two years left on his current deal, which means negotiations over a new contract should not be too far away. If all parties do sit down soon, Orta and co must make an offer that illustrates exactly what Phillips is worth to them.