Phillips makes a move from “Leeds” to Manchester City
Phillips makes a move from “Leeds” to Manchester City.
Manchester City have confirmed that Kalvin Phillips had signed a six-year deal worth a reported transfer fee of £42 million. Phillips, a man of 26, will compete for a place in midfield with Rodri and replace Fernandinho after he departed at the end of last season after completing nine years at the Etihad. He is all set to join the preseason tour to the U.S. He is the third signing of the summer of the Premier League champions who already acquired Erling Haaland and Stefan Ortega Moreno.
He is expected to wear the No 4 shirt at the Etihad replacing Fernandinho at the base of midfield. Phillips became an important figure at Elland Road during Marcelo Bielsa’s three-and-a-half seasons in charge.
At Manchester City, Phillips is the 14th most expensive signing in club history ranked between Leroy Sane and Bernado Silva. Pep Guardiola calls Phillips the key target to strengthen the midfield. The defensive midfielder stands at the second position in terms of major signings this summer after Man City has successfully secured forward Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. After the completion of Phillips, the transfer spending of Manchester City is at €111.5 million.
“I am absolutely delighted to have joined Manchester City,” Phillips said in an interview on the club website. “City have again proved to be the best team in the country with an amazing squad and a manager in Pep Guardiola who is rightly considered to be the finest in the world. To be able to play under Pep and learn from him and his coaching staff as well as be part of such a fantastic squad is a prospect that I am incredibly excited about.” , says Kalvin Phillips.
“City are a world-class club with world-class staff and facilities and it’s a dream come true to have joined the club.
“Now I can’t wait to get started and to look to try and help the team to go on and achieve more success.”
Phillips has been of great help to Leeds to attain promotion in the Premier League, 2020. He was also a debutant for England in the same year and he turned out to be a key player playing a vital role to reach the final of Euro 2020 where the team of Gareth Southgate was beaten on penalties by Italy. He leaves Leeds with 234 appearances on behalf of his club and 14 goals to his account.
Meanwhile, Leeds United have spent €57.84 million this summer. The Phillips transfer is the first major outgoing transfer for Leeds and the club that is managed by American Jesse Marsch is looking to replace Phillips as quickly as possible. The player that might be on the list of Leeds desiring to acquire is US men’s national team midfielder Tyler Adams from RB Leipzig. Adams has been at the Bundesliga side for an ample amount of time and is expected to be looking for a fresh start.
With Adam in mind, Leeds announced the signing of Darko Gyabi from City on Monday but did not disclose the fee. He played a key role in guiding the Under-18 side of Manchester City to win the title of the Premier League North, and has signed a five-year contract at Elland Road.