LEEDS UNITED are plotting to take Kalvin Phillips back to Elland Road — if they clinch an immediate top-flight return.
Phillips spent 12 years at his hometown club before a £42million switch to Manchester City in 2022.
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Yet his dream move became a nightmare — spending 18 months on the bench and sliding out of the England reckoning.
He was eventually loaned to West Ham in January.
Now Leeds want to offer the 28-year-old a chance to rebuild his career and reckon City would do business for around £30m to get him off the books.
The champions’ interest in Hammers midfielder Lucas Paqueta is a potential stumbling block, as they would like to use Phillips as a makeweight in the summer.
City boss Pep Guardiola is a big fan of the Brazilian — who has an £85m release clause — and would like to offset a chunk of the asking price against his midfield misfit.
But that increasingly looks like wishful thinking on City’s part, as Phillips’ time in London has been another disaster.
He has made only three starts, beginning with a debut clanger that cost a goal and followed by a red card in the next one.
At the Etihad he kicked off just six games — and was labelled overweight by Guardiola when he returned from the 2022 World Cup.
Phillips kept his England place in the squad for the Euro qualifiers.
But he is now so far out of the picture, there is no chance of him making the finals this summer.