You know the saying ‘where there’s smoke there’s fire’?
Well, it looks as if this could be a case of there being no smoke, and consequently, no fire either.
Remember back in the early parts of the summer when you couldn’t turn your head without reading a story about Kalvin Phillips making a move to Aston Villa? Well it looks as if you won’t be bothered by any of those stories anymore, as Villa appear to have found their man by signing Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz. There were apparently bids also set to come in from Bournemouth and Wolves, although there hasn’t been anything concrete on that front for a number of weeks.
I said in one of my very first pieces on here, that keeping a settled side was always going to be key for Leeds United this season, so the fact that the club were able to hold off the advances for so long is a testament to the board. Especially when you consider Leeds aren’t in the best place at the moment financially, it took a lot of strength not to go down the fire sale route that the club went through back in the early 2000s. Although I do still think selling Pontus Jansson could have been avoided.
Now comes the next step in the Kalvin Phillips saga, signing him to a long term deal. At the end of this season, he’ll be down to just one year left on his current deal, ripe for picking by Premier League clubs ready to pounce on the uncertainty of the ‘sell him now or lose him for free in 12 months’ scenario.
Say Leeds don’t get promoted again this season, the club will just find itself in the same situation of trying to fight off any advances from Premier League clubs. At least with a long term deal it will make it a little bit harder for him to be prized away, and if you’re desperate to sell then you can still command a high fee for him, although in an ideal world it won’t come to that.
LeedsLive have reported that the club is in negotiations with Phillips over a new deal, but the sooner that everything is tied up, the sooner Leeds fans will be able to sleep soundly in their beds at night.