Sky Sports pundits Micah Richards and Jamie Redknapp believe Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips will be on his way out of Elland Road should the Whites get relegated this season. A revelation last summer for England on their run to the European Championship finals, Phillips has missed a significant amount of game time this season for Leeds due to a hamstring injury the 26-year-old picked up in December.
During that time, Leeds endured a torrid run of form that saw the club replace former head coach Marcelo Bielsa with Jesse Marsch in a bit to help the club beat the drop and stay in the Premier League. Phillips, and striker Patrick Bamford, have both spent prolonged spells on the sidelines this season, which has significantly hindered the Whites ability to field a fully fit first XI.
Sunday afternoon's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal, coupled with Everton's victory against Leicester City meant that Leeds slipped into the bottom three, with just three matches left to play.
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And Richards and Redknapp believe the midfield maestro could be well on his way to bigger and better things in the event that Leeds do go down.
"It was always going to happen," said Richards on the interest surrounding Phillips. "You think about the quality that they possess, the same with Bamford as well.
"It’s been tough because at times, Leeds have done really well, got key players injured at the wrong times and the quality, we seen him [Phillips] at the Euros and he was one of England's best players. So people are always going to come knocking, it’s not a bad thing.
"But if they were to go down, he’s not going to be playing Championship football next season, that’s no disrespect to Leeds. He’s a Premier League player and if they were to go people will come in for him."
Redknapp added: "There’s no way they’d be in this position if they had Bamford and Phillips fit, they’d probably still have Bielsa as manager because they are that key to this team.
"They’ve been really unfortunate because he is a brilliant player, understands the role, technically excellent, passes the ball, get holds of it, has character when he has and makes the team tick.
"They are the facts of football, there’s no way he’ll be playing Championship football if they go down."
