Leeds United have been handed a massive boost in the battle to keep England star Kalvin Phillips with the midfielder reportedly telling the club he wants to sign a new deal in the summer.
The Mirror’s David Anderson reports that both parties have been eager to agree to fresh terms for some time but that talks have been on hold whilst the club focuses on remaining in the Premier League.
Big boost for Leeds after Kalvin Phillips tells the board he wants to sign a new deal in the summer. #lufc
— David Anderson (@MirrorAnderson) March 30, 2022
Talks have also been delayed by Phillips’ plans to change agent at the end of the season, but the 26-year-old has never had any desire to leave his boyhood club and has rebuffed prior interest in his services in 2019 when rejecting Aston Villa to sign his current contract, which runs until 2024.
He is reportedly earning around £25,000 a week on that deal and Leeds are keen to substantially increase that figure to accurately reflect the progress Phillips has made both for club and country.
The club also reaffirmed their desire to keep the midfielder after rejecting a substantial bid from West Ham in the most recent January window, rumoured to be around £50 million.
“Kalvin was pleased that Leeds turned those offers down,” Phillips’ agent Kevin Sharp said in February.
“He has never asked to leave Leeds in all his time with the club and has no intention of doing that now or in the summer. But I understand the offer that was turned down would have been a record for both buying and selling clubs.”
“So I would hope that Leeds would honour their promise of a new contract for him, which would then end any unsettling speculation about his future this summer.”
Phillips was on the bench for the Whites’ most recent league game against Wolves at Molineux and is expected to make his long-awaited return from a hamstring problem when Southampton travel to Elland Road this weekend.
