Leeds United have already been linked with re-signing Kalvin Phillips ahead of the summer.
Phillips’ career looks as though it will once again be at a crossroads at the end of the season, having endured a nightmare time of it since joining West Ham United on loan in January.
It has only been two years since Phillips left Elland Road and while he did win a treble at Manchester City last term, it would be fair to say he has endured a bad time of it.
He started just two Premier League matches last season, both of which came after City had also been crowned champions, while Guardiola also publicly called him out as overweight after the World Cup.
He moved to West Ham in January in the hope of playing regularly, but things have gone from bad to worse for him, making a number of errors, and therefore losing his place in the England squad.
It feels unlikely West Ham will look to sign him permanently at the end of the season, and so rumours have already started that he could return to Leeds.
Hay shares whether Leeds could actually look to sign Phillips this summer
Athletic journalist Phil Hay has been speaking on the possibility of Leeds potentially re-signing Phillips this summer on the latest episode of the Square Ball Podcast.
First of all, it goes without saying that any potential interest will depend on whether Leeds are able to win promotion back to the Premier League in these next few weeks.
If that was to happen, Hay believes it will be a story that continues to rumble on all summer until Phillips’ future is clarified, but ultimately, Daniel Farke will have the final decision as to whether he is actually needed.
He said: “It hasn’t worked. For everything that has gone on between him and Guardiola, I did not see a way back for him anyway before he went to West Ham. Even less so now it’s gone like this, and I had actually thought West Ham would be a good move for him.
“I thought there were aspects of their style of play that would be good for his long passing. But it has been a disaster and got himself into that awful position where everything that goes wrong, seems to revolve around him.
“He needs something to change and there is going to have be some way of negotiating him out of City. Whether it’s a loan or permanent, everyone is going to have to be sensible about the numbers involved. Whether he comes back to Leeds, I think it Leeds don’t go up, absolutely not.
“If Leeds do go up, it will 100 per cent depend on how Farke sees his team and what he thinks he needs because he has dictated everything in terms of transfers. You’ve got Nick Hammond, Gretar Steinsson, so you have a big transfer committee, but his is the final say and will be the same in the summer.
“I don’t know what his thinking would be with Phillips but it is going to be down to him. It’s most certainly going to reoccur as a story in the summer.”
Leeds should avoid Phillips return even if promoted
Phillips, of course, enjoyed the best period of his career at Leeds but it should be somewhat of a concern immediately just how poor he has been at West Ham.
He is also likely to be on big wages at City, and there is little chance they will want to let him leave permanently for a significant discount on the £42 million they paid Leeds to sign him, making it a very expensive deal.
Leeds are also very well stocked in the middle of the park right now, particularly in that defensive role. The only real addition they could do with in there is a number 10, which Phillips simply is not.
Ethan Ampadu has filled in at the back during 2024 but the start of a new season, as well as Pascal Struijk’s return, the potential addition of a new centre-back, is likely to see him revert back to his favoured midfield role. That would further eliminate the point of bringing Phillips back.
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