Newcastle gain transfer boost for midfielder over Liverpool as Man City make transfer decision

Manchester City will reportedly 'not block' Kalvin Phillips' loan move to Newcastle in the January window.

Liverpool had been linked with a move for the former Leeds United midfielder in the past, alongside a whole host of clubs in England and across Europe as Phillips seeks regular football after a dismal spell under Pep Guardiola. The 28-year-old signed for £45m in the summer window of 2022 but he has gone onto make just 31 appearances.

This season he's featured 10 times in total, netting once but he has only started two games - once in the Champions League away win at Red Star and in the 1-0 loss to Newcastle in the EFL Cup, a team who is most likely to join according to the latest reports. TalkSPORT have reported that City will not block a loan move for Phillips to Newcastle who are looking to beef up their midfield to replace the banned Sandro Tonali, but don’t have the funds to do a permanent deal.

Despite the fact it would be a loan deal, City are reportedly demanding an eye-watering loan fee of £7.5m for the deal, something which would be considered too much for most of the interested parties. A deal looks likely in January given that the European Championships are next summer and Phillips needs regular football to consolidate his place in Gareth Southgate's squad which, as it stands, is under real threat.

For Liverpool, a potential move was an idea thrown about in the summer months as they looked to refresh their current midfield but they went down alternative routes despite the potential of the low-cost option of Phillips who would have filled their vacant defensive midfield position. Currently, Wataru Endo is proving that their £16m choice was vindicated as his recent form has been hugely impressive.

Sky Sports transfer guru Dharmesh Sheth recently gave an update on the potential move, stating that City would not want a repeat of how they allowed both Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to strengthen a rival. "We saw in the summer before last that they were more than happy to allow Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to go to Arsenal, but they ended up being the main rivals to Manchester City for the title." He told GiveMeSport. "We've been hearing noises about teams like Liverpool and other clubs being interested in Kalvin Phillips. I wonder whether they would really facilitate a move to a rival. I think, at this moment in time, Kalvin Phillips will probably just want to play football."