Former Southampton and Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips has insisted that Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips will leave the club, despite comments made by the 24-year-old.
The Whites ace recently stated that he wishes to spend his “career at Leeds” (LeedsLive), but it seems that the ex-England centre-forward doesn’t believe that will happen.
Indeed, the 46-year-old thinks that it is inevitable that Phillips will ultimately move on from Elland Road, insisting that if he helps his boyhood club win promotion to the Premier League and then performs well in the top flight, bids from the biggest clubs in the country will come in and could tempt him away.
Speaking about the midfielder and his recent comments, the former Stoke City coach told Football Insider: “Credit to him saying that but he is still a young lad. I am not going to say he will regret it but when you look back at the Premier League not many players stay at one club for their whole career.
“Steven Gerrard springs to mind but it is very rare, especially in today’s climate.
“If they go up and he performs well somebody is going to come in with a huge bid. If a big club that is challenging for trophies comes in you are going to go.
“It is nice of him to say that and he is going to because he loves the club but from my experience if he plays well he will not be at Leeds for the rest of his career. I can guarantee that.”
Kevin could well be right here, and whilst Kalvin is making all the right noises about being committed to Leeds for the long-term he may need to leave eventually in order to get the maximum from his career.
There is no doubting that he is a talented footballer. He has become a mainstay under Marcelo Bielsa, featuring 80 times in total since the Argentine took charge which makes him his third most used player (Transfermarkt).
His stats for the current season are extremely impressive, both in a defensive and attacking sense. Indeed he is averaging 2.8 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 1.3 clearances per game as well as winning a total of 6.4 duels. On top of that, he also averages 1.9 key passes per match and has created a total of five big chances (SofaScore).
He has already been touted as a potential England international (The Sun) and whilst Leeds may well be in the Premier League soon, his talent may outgrow them and eventually he might have to move to one of the big boys in order to fully fulfil his potential and win silverware.
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