Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has revealed Leeds United had to turn down better transfer offers for Kalvin Phillips to honour the players wishes.
According to a recent report in The Athletic, Manchester City have reached an agreement to sign the player for £42m, with potential bonuses valuing £3m.
Despite that move now looking certain, other Premier League teams were said to be chasing the player. Indeed, the Daily Mail claimed Manchester United considered a £50m bid for Phillips.
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano confirmed that other English clubs wanted to offer more for the Leeds man – while Paris Saint-Germain were also ready to offer big money for him – but the Whites opted to turn it down.
The journalist explained (2:37): “Let me mention, Paris Saint-Germain had contacts with Kalvin Phillips’ agents, but also other English clubs tried to explore this deal – even with proposals that were way better than Manchester City’s proposal to Leeds.
But Leeds had to accept Man City’s proposal, because Kalvin Phillips was pretty clear with Manchester City, and with all the other clubs, he only wanted to play for Pep Guardiola, so for Leeds there was no choice.
Did Leeds get a fair price for Kalvin Phillips?
Yes
No
TIF thoughts on Kalvin Phillips and Leeds…
Phillips has certainly done a lot for Leeds during his time with the club, helping them reestablish themselves as a Premier League team again.
Even so, some fans will no doubt be disappointed by his choice to leave the club now. On top of that, the idea that they could have made more money from his sale will likely frustrate many Leeds supporters.
In the end though, judging from Romano’s comments, Phillips had his heart firmly set on playing under Guardiola. Evidently, the Whites had enough respect for the player and all that he has done for the club –which included being pivotal in the promotion from the Championship – to accept his demands and sell him to City despite better offers from other clubs.