Liverpool ‘join’ Newcastle United and Everton in race to land Leeds United hero

Liverpool have joined Merseyside rivals Everton in the race to sign out-of-favour Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips, according to reports.

The Reds are believed to be in the market for a defensive minded midfielder in January after the high profile losses of experienced names such as Jordan Henderson and Fabinho. Jurgen Klopp’s side had a record-breaking bid of over £100m accepted for Moises Caicedo in the summer, only for the Ecuadorian to instead opt for a move to Chelsea.

The 2020 title winners also had a blockbuster bid of around £50m accepted for Belgian youngster Romeo Lavia, but the player also turned down the option to join Liverpool in favour of a move to Stamford Bridge. These failed moves currently leave new recruit Alexis Mac Allister in a much deeper role compared to the one he played at Brighton.

This has come to little detriment to Liverpool who are third in the table with seven wins from 11. However, it is likely that they will return to the market in January to sign a deep-lying midfielder, to allow the Argentine to step back into a more advanced position and Phillips is one name high on Liverpool’s radar, according to TalkSport. Phillips is expected to push for a move away from Manchester City after a lack of first team football over the last 16 months.

The 30-time England international has previously spoken of his desire to play in next summer’s European Championships and will be determined to build on his successful tournament in 2021, when he was awarded the England Men’s Player of The Year award. Phillips offers many of the qualities that Klopp likes in terms of his workrate and energy in the midfield, while he also offers vast experience having served as captain of hometown club Leeds United. He helped the Yorkshire club earn promotion back to the Premier League and spent two seasons in the top flight with the Whites before moving to Man City in 2022.

Aspects of Phillips’ game when at his best fit the mould of both Fabinho and Henderson, but it remains to be seen whether Pep Guardiola will sell to a direct title rival. Klopp is far from the only admirer of Phillips and TalkSport adds that both Newcastle United and Everton could emerge with rival bids. The option for Phillips to join a club on loan has also been touted as a possibility.

Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel of Bayern Munich is also believed to be in the market for a midfielder. The German champions signed Man City’s Joao Cancelo on loan last season, to the benefit of both clubs and Guardiola may look for a similar resolution this term.