Forget Kalvin Phillips: Leeds United have a scarily good prodigy emerging from Thorp Arch | OneFootball

Charlie Crew could be a star of the future at Elland Road meaning there's no need to bring Kalvin Phillips back to the club

Leeds United supporters may have been excited in recent times to hear whispers of a potential Elland Road for Kalvin Phillips, but they already have a player on their books who's capable of becoming a mainstay in the starting XI for years to come.

Phillips left Leeds in the summer of 2022 and joined Manchester City, but his time at the Etihad Stadium has been a disaster, barely featuring and being sent on loan to West Ham and Ipswich Town.

The midfielder has continued to struggle at Ipswich Town, and it was recently reported that Phillips could have his loan deal at Portman Road terminated in January, with the player reportedly wanting a return to Leeds.

Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna recently labelled these claims as "nonsense", which may have disheartened some Leeds supporters, but instead of focusing on a return for Phillips, they may be better off looking towards the future.

In the form of Charlie Crew, Leeds have a midfielder who's a full international already at the age of 18, and the Welshman looks like he could be a real star in the years to come.

Forgot Kalvin Phillips, Leeds United have Charlie Crew emerging

While Phillips is a Leeds United legend and understandably, supporters would love to see him return to Elland Road to get his career back on track, now could be the time to move on, and instead focus on developing players who could become the next Kalvin Phillips.

One of the players in this mold is Charlie Crew, who is yet to make his senior debut for Leeds, but he's seen as someone who could well become a star of the future for the club.

He was signed from Cardiff City for a six-figure fee in the summer of 2022 as a 16-year-old, and he's begun working his way up through the ranks at Elland Road, becoming a regular for their U21 side in Premier League 2.

It seems like a matter of time before he's called upon by Daniel Farke, and he's been part of the matchday squad on a number of occasions this season.

Bizarrely, Crew has already played senior international football despite having never played a first-team club game, and he made his Wales debut as a 17-year-old when a youthful looking side played Gibraltar in a summer friendly.

He's highly-rated both at Leeds and in the international set-up, and if they were to bring Phillips back, there's no guarantee that he would be anywhere near the player that left Elland Road in 2022, and it could also harm Crew's chances of breaking through.

Leeds players have been impressed with Crew's performances in training and at the EFL awards last season, Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville, two players who left the club last summer, both said they'd been impressed by what they'd seen from the Welsh youngster.

While an Elland Road return for Phillips is romantic and would certainly be well-received, they should prioritise developing Crew, and they could potentially reap the rewards of that in years to come.

Charlie Crew could make Leeds United big money in the years to come

Of course, it's important not to get carried away here before Crew has even played a senior game for Leeds, but he would undoubtedly have more potential resale value than Phillips would if he was to return to the club.

Crew is ten years younger than Phillips, and the fact that he's making the matchday squad and playing for Wales at this age suggests he's got a very bright future in the game.

He's seen as one of the stars of Leeds' Thorp Arch academy, and if he has the career that many people have tipped him to, he'll be worth a lot of money in the years to come.

Leeds sold Phillips for £42million in the summer of 2022, huge money which was a boost to the club, and there's no reason why they can't demand big money for Crew if he makes a breakthrough in the future.

Phillips was a fantastic player for Leeds and will forever be immortalised for helping them win promotion to the Premier League and for the way he performed under Marcelo Bielsa, but Crew is the future, and the Whites should invest in him instead of going backwards.