---
title: "Leeds: Darren Bent reacts to Kalvin Phillips transfer news"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/kalvin-phillips-man-city-transfer-darren-bent-wow-bonkers/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Charlie Smith"
section: "Leeds United News"
published: "2022-06-26T16:20:51Z"
modified: "2022-06-26T16:20:51Z"
---

# Leeds: Darren Bent reacts to Kalvin Phillips transfer news

**[talkSPORT](https://twitter.com/talkSPORT/status/1540380120732647424) pundit Darren Bent was left stunned after [Leeds United](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/leeds-united-news/) agreed a £42m fee with Manchester City for Kalvin Phillips.**

### The Lowdown: Move edging closer

News broke on Friday evening regarding the England midfielder, with Leeds and Ma City reaching an agreement on a fee. Both [The Athletic](https://theathletic.com/news/leeds-kalvin-phillips-man-city-transfer-news/zqE5mZ7zWwmz/) and [Fabrizio Romano](https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1540381722726088706) cited an initial fee of £42m, with add-ons varying between the two sources.

The 26-year-old has already agreed on [personal terms](https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1540381722726088706) at the Etihad Stadium, so it looks as if it is just a matter of time until a transfer is officially announced.

### The Latest: Bent reacts

[talkSPORT](https://twitter.com/talkSPORT/status/1540380120732647424) shared an on-air reaction from Bent on Friday evening on their Twitter channel, with the former Tottenham striker providing his thoughts on the transfer.

He believes that Man City have bagged themselves a good deal and labelled a £42m fee as ‘bonkers’, ending his reply with ‘wow’.

[![Latest Leeds United updates!](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg)](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-updates-5/)

### The Verdict: Could Leeds have done better?

An initial £42m figure does seem to be fairly low for a player of Phillips’ quality. He now has [two seasons](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/kalvin-phillips/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/351749) of Premier League experience and is a regular for England, winning their [Player of the Year](https://www.englandfootball.com/articles/2021/Sep/01/20210109-kalvin-phillips-named-england-mens-player-of-the-year-2021) for 2020/21.

Phillips is valued at £45m by [Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/kalvin-phillips/profil/spieler/351749) and still had [two years](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/kalvin-phillips/profil/spieler/351749) left on his Elland Road contract, so Leeds could have attempted to push an initial fee closer to £50m.

\[freshpress-poll id=”401101″\]

It looks as if the 26-year-old had his [heart set on working under Pep Guardiola](https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1540381722726088706), something which appears to have worked against the Whites when it came to negotiations.