Manchester City are strong favourites to sign Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips ahead of Liverpool this summer.
That’s according to journalist Miguel Delaney. Writing in his Reading The Game newsletter for The Independent, Delaney claims that Phillips is ‘widely expected’ to join City.
The 26-year-old has previously been linked with a move to Liverpool, but it looks as though The Reds will now miss out.
Instead, good news comes as Delaney claims Darwin Nunez joining Liverpool looks like a ‘virtual certainty.’
Liverpool to miss out on Phillips
Liverpool have been rumoured to be following Phillips for a long number of months. As far back as October there were claims that the midfielder was on The Reds’ radar.
Most recently, Liverpool were even told to go all-in for the England man by Danny Murphy. The former Liverpool player saw Phillips’ ‘hunger’ in midfield as being perfect for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds.
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Perhaps Klopp saw it the same way.
But the fact that Leeds avoided relegation on the final day of the season has meant that the asking price for Phillips would likely be massive.
Had the Yorkshire club gone down, their academy man would reportedly have been available for a cut-price fee.
Instead, his status as a regular starter for England will likely be reflected in Leeds’ asking price.
Liverpool could do with a midfielder this summer. Given their pursuit of Aurelien Tchouameni, it seems as though they’re also willing to spend pretty big on one.
Whatever they do in the market though, they will never be able to match the spending power of City. Heading into a bidding war with one of the richest clubs on the planet simply isn’t something Liverpool can afford to do. There’s plenty more fish in the sea.