Leeds: Liverpool said to be looking at Phillips | OneFootball

Gabriel Agbonlahor has made an interesting claim in regards to Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips…

What’s the talk?

Former Premier League forward Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed that Liverpool are looking at Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips. The ex-Villa attacker has stated that he will be on everyone’s radar and labelled the England international as “outstanding”.

He told Football Insider:

“It’s not just Liverpool, I think he’ll be on everybody’s radar.

“He’s an outstanding player and was one of England’s stand-out performers at the Euros. Every team in the Premier League and teams in Europe will be looking at him and will definitely try to sign him.

“It’s going to be a bit of a headache for Leeds to try and keep hold of him because he’s been outstanding.

“I’m sure Liverpool are definitely looking at him. But the price tag will be high to get him out of there.”

Will Phillips leave Leeds?

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Bielsa needs him

Victor Orta must avoid making a huge howler this summer by rejecting any interest in Phillips. He must ensure that the local lad is still at the club come the start of September as he is a crucial player for Marcelo Bielsa and should only be sold if a ridiculous amount of money was thrown at him, which could then allow the Argentine coach to bolster his squad.

Only three outfield players averaged higher WhoScored ratings for Leeds than Phillips last season in the Premier League. Patrick Bamford, Raphinha and Liam Cooper were the only players who could better the midfield’s score of 7.01, whilst Phillips also topped the midfield ranks for tackles and interceptions per game to emphasise his dominance in the middle of the park.

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This shows how important he is to Bielsa as he is the best defensive midfielder at the club and has proven that he can perform consistently, to a high level, in the top-flight. He also proved his worth at the European Championships for England, starting seven times on their way to a penalty shoot-out loss to Italy in the final at Wembley. The 25-year-old averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.82, showing that he can compete at the very highest level.

The £35k-per-week beast is, therefore, still needed by Bielsa at Leeds and Orta must work hard to keep him at the club next season. If Leeds harbour any ambitions of pushing on and challenging for Europe they will need to keep hold of their top players and Phillips’ statistics certainly suggest that he falls into that category, meaning that selling him would be a nightmare for the club.

And, given his ties to the club, selling him to a fellow Premier League club would have fans absolutely fuming.

AND in other news, Get rid: Leeds must finally axe £70k-p/w “massive flop” who’s rinsing Radrizzani dry…