Leeds United have picked themselves up after a stretch of disappointing results. This past week, the club have secured huge results which will come in handy in their fight for Premier League survival.
After a disappointing finish to the Manchester City game where they almost mounted a comeback, the next two games were a huge improvement. Daniel Farke’s new 3-5-2 system worked successfully against Chelsea. Their new direct style was too much for Enzo Maresca’s side to handle as they strolled to a 3-1 win midweek.
Leeds carried that confidence into the Liverpool tie on Saturday night. But their dreams were almost scattered when Hugo Ekitike put the Reds 2-0 up early in the second half. Goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anton Stach tied the game, with Ao Tanaka’s stoppage time goal cancelling out Dominik Szoboszlai’s effort to seal a 3-3 draw.
Transfer insider drops Kalvin Phillips update amidst Leeds United links
With January around the corner, Leeds could look to make some key transfers to survive. One of the major names that has been linked in the last few months has been Kalvin Phillips. The former Leeds man has not had the best of time since leaving the club a few years ago.
He has been linked with a return multiple times, but Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke says a move abroad is ‘tempting’ to the England international when January comes around:
“Look, for Kalvin Phillips, I think he probably needs to move on from City in the January window and get back to playing.
“He’s not played enough over the last couple of seasons, he’s had disappointing loan spells at West Ham and Ipswich, so Phillips could be tempted by a move abroad.
“I’m sure there’ll be a number of European clubs who would be interested in taking the former England international potentially on a loan deal.
“I think that might be something that would be of interest to Phillips as well.
“He’d like to go and try a new challenge somewhere else and get his career back on track, because it’s stalled over the last couple of seasons.”
Leeds do not need Phillips
As much as some fans would desperately want to see him return, he is not a priority target. Nor is he needed in this current team. Leeds did a great job of recruiting dynamic midfielders in the summer to compliment their current core.
| Player | Games | Goals + Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Anton Stach | 12 | 4 |
| Sean Longstaff | 12 | 3 |
| Ao Tanaka | 12 | 2 |
| Ethan Ampadu | 13 | 0 |
| Ilia Gruev | 8 | 0 |
And Longstaff and Stach have not been bad at all, they have been great this season. With the likes of Ao Tanaka and Ilia Gruev stepping up in the team recently, a move for Phillips is uncalled for. Leeds will be fine with their current options, and need to focus on getting attackers in January.
