Aston Villa have been tipped with a late move to sign Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, according to a former Elland Road attacker.
Phillips has been a name thrown about as a potential signing for Villa all summer, but have been unsuccessful in their pursuit of the midfielder so far.
Leeds have stuck a price tag north of £20 million, reported to be over £30 million, on their prized asset, according to the Birmingham Mail, and have been unwilling to budge from it so far.
Villa have been unwilling to match Leeds’ asking price for the 23-year-old, but that could change as the window draws to a close according to former Leeds attacker and radio presenter Noel Whelan.
Speaking on BBC Radio Leeds, the former Leeds attacker said that if Villa up their offer before the window slams shut on Thursday, then they could yet get their man.
I don’t think you can promise anything in this game, especially now that you have got a good young player that other clubs in the Premier League have been looking at, wanting to buy, putting in offers.
If an offer came around that was too good to say no to, he would be on his way out, no shadow of a doubt about that.
Phillips appeared in Leeds first game of the season on Sunday, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side running out 3-1 winners against Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
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However, would it be worth the Villans splashing out on Phillips?
Considering how much Dean Smith has already spent in this transfer window, including bringing in midfielders Douglas Luiz from Manchester City and Marvelous Nakamba from Club Brugge, it could be seen as pointless to splash out on yet another player in the position.
The signing of Nakamba especially casts doubt on any late bid for Phillips, with the Zimbabwean midfielder playing in a similar defensive midfield role to the Championship midfielder.
With John McGinn and Conor Hourihane also still at Villa, it’s fair to say that Dean Smith does not lack in quality in the position.
But Phillips was one of Leeds’ key men in their failed promotion bid last season, and he could certainly bring a lot to the table if he was to swap Elland Road for Villa Park.
If Dean Smith is comfortable with spending £20m+ on Phillips, however, is very much up for debate.
