Sky pundit and former Premier League defender Michael Dawson has been left ‘shocked’ after learning Leeds midfielder star Kalvin Phillips is earning ‘£25k-a-week’ at Elland Road.
The revelation has risen after Leeds’s narrow 1-1 draw with Southampton. The Whites took the lead thanks to a goal from winger Jack Harrison, making that his eighth in all competitions this season.
Talking on Sky Sports (as per Leeds Live) after the game, Dawson proclaimed his surprise at the England international’s wages, stating: “Well, he needs to quadruple that, after the Euros, you think surely they have gone and said ‘we are giving you a new contract’.
He continued: “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.
“He’s a Leeds boy and it’s where he has always been. He could go and get £150k-a-week anywhere else. Realistically, if someone paid £60-70 million for him.
“They don’t want to lose him. They can’t lose him. If you are saying ‘no we aren’t letting you go’, then you have to get paid like that then, that’s the problem.
“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.”
TIF Thoughts on Phillips wage reveal…
Phillips has shown to be one of England’s best midfielders, both in the league and on the international stage. His performances at Euro 2020 alone should have yielded a pay rise, Rice and Phillips were a big reason why England managed to go all the way to the final and he should be rewarded.
His midfield partner at England is thought to be earning £62k per week, which will undoubtedly increase further with the demand Rice has picked up in the transfer market this season.
Regardless of Phillips’ injury problems this season, he has proved to be a rock for Leeds, completing 2.2 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 1.5 dribbles per game this season, and should look to increase his wage demands before the start of next season. If that is not possible, however, he should look for a move to a new club as there will surely be many suitors for the 26-year-old in the summer.