Leeds may have dodged a bullet not signing 26-year-old after his start to the season – opinion 

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Leeds United spent much of the summer chasing a new centre-back to bolster Daniel Farke’s ranks.

The Whites saw three senior central defenders depart in the wake of relegation with Robin Koch, Diego Llorente and Max Wober all leaving on loan.

It was a chaotic summer for Leeds in which they waited until the last few weeks of the window to get the majority of their incoming business done.

But one player who was linked with Elland Road throughout the majority of the summer was Nat Phillips, with it looking like he was their first choice centre-back target.

However, with a reported price of £10 million set by Liverpool, Leeds opted against pursuing a deal, which at this stage, is looking like a bullet dodged.

Leeds may have dodged a bullet not signing Phillips

Phillips had to wait until deadline day to secure a move away from Liverpool in the summer, joining Celtic on loan until January amid their injury crisis at the back.

The 26-year-old, though, has often struggled to get fit himself having had a distinct lack of pre-season action at Anfield.

Across his three Scottish Premiership appearances so far, Phillips has started just one match, in which he was brought off at half-time anyway.

His only start in the Champions League also saw him come off with a significant amount of time still left in the game.

Players with unreliable fitness were the last thing Daniel Farke needed during the summer and thankfully Leeds decided to look elsewhere, with Joe Rodon having arrived on loan from Spurs.

Rodon’s ability on the ball, defensive nous and decent recovery speed has made him the perfect centre-back signing so far for Leeds, with it really looking like they made the right decision signing him over Phillips.