Journalist Keith Downie has claimed that Kalvin Phillips moving to Newcastle United would be suitable for all parties involved.
Newcastle United are reportedly the club leading the race to sign the Leeds United midfielder ahead of the summer transfer window, but they face competition from Premier League rivals Aston Villa, who are also interested in him.
Leeds struggled last season, and this coincided with the absence of Phillips, who missed large chunks of the campaign, meaning he featured just 20 times as Leeds ended up scraping Premier League survival on the final day.
With the reports stating the Magpies lead the race to sign Phillips, Downie highlighted to This Is Futbol that if the deal can be completed, it would be a good move for all parties.
He said: “Kalvin Phillips is a really interesting one. I think that would be a really good move for the player. He’s not going to go to Man United. Is he going to go [Liverpool] and be a starter? Not sure. I think it’s quite close to home, he’s a northern lad, I could see that being a good move for both parties if Newcastle can get it done.”
Do you think Phillips will sign for Newcastle?Yes
No
|
TIF Thoughts on Downie’s comments…
Phillips’ absence was arguably one of the main reasons Leeds struggled last season, while in the 2020/21 campaign, he was the club’s top performer with an average player rating of 7.21 (as per SofaScore), as he helped his side achieve a top-10 finish in their first season back in the top flight for 16 years.
Newcastle are expected to build on their impressive second half of the previous season when they climbed out of the bottom three to finish 11th, and Phillips could be a great option in the heart of the midfield for Eddie Howe to build a team around.