Kalvin Phillips is centre of a massive tug-of-war as Leeds battle their Premier League rivals for his signature.
West Ham claim they offered £50million for the England midfielder in the January transfer window and remain keen. Newcastle and Aston Villa are also big admirers while Manchester United and Liverpool have also shown interest as they both look for a midfielder this summer.
Now Phillips has handed Leeds a massive boost in their efforts to hold on to him by saying he is prepared to sign a new contract with them this summer. Leeds and Phillips have been keen to agree new terms for some time and the issue has been put on hold while the club try to secure their Premier League status.
Talks have also been held up because the boyhood Leeds fan is changing to a new agent at the end of the season. Phillips’ current deal expires in June 2024 and Leeds want to hand him a pay rise to reflect his progress since then for club and country. Phillips, 26, has told Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani and his board that he is happy to sign a new deal at the end of the season.
Phillips has never wanted to leave his boyhood club and rejected interest from Burnley and a potential £26million move to Villa to agree his last contract in 2019. His focus is on helping Leeds reach safety and he will make his first appearance since December 5 against Southampton at Elland Road on Saturday after recovering from his hamstring operation. Leeds also hope to revive contract talks with Raphinha at the end of the season and negotiations with him are on hold as well.
Like Phillips, the Brazil winger is under contract at Elland Road until June 2024 and Leeds opened talks with his agent Deco just before Christmas. Leeds’ director of football Victor Orta held a second round of talks with Deco earlier this year before they stalled. Leeds are prepared to make Raphinha their best-paid player in the club’s history and the main sticking point is over his release clause.
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Raphinha, who is their top scorer this season with 11 goals, wants an exit clause with a relatively-low value to help him leave when he decides to go. Leeds understand his argument, but want a higher value to reflect his standing as one of Europe’s most-coveted players.
Leeds are also not going to agree a release clause now, when one currently does not apply in the Premier League, until they secure their top-flight status. Raphinha is wanted by Barcelona and the Spanish giants are confident they can agree terms with him to land him this summer.
They feel they can lure him to the Nou Camp because of the draw of playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world. President Joan Laporta has confirmed their interest and says they have spoken to former Barca star Deco, who has given them “great reports” on him. “Raphinha is a great player,” said Laporta. “We have got great reports on him from Deco. Deco has his job and informs us of details so we don’t make mistakes and he is someone who has helped us a lot.”
