Leeds United could now receive an approach from Liverpool for midfielder Kalvin Phillips, according to The Sunday Mirror's chief sports reporter Tom Hopkinson.

The lowdown

The England midfielder made 23 appearances for Leeds in the 2021/22 campaign, which for him was heavily disrupted by a serious hamstring injury.

Despite that body blow, among Whites players who started at least five matches, he had the best points-per-game record at 1.2. That suggest that he is clearly a key figure at Elland Road, but 'with the player failing to agree a new deal, his future is very much 'up in the air' at the moment.

His potential sale could be the most lucrative in Leeds' history, surpassing Rio Ferdinand's £30m move to Manchester United in 2002.

The latest

According to The Sunday Mirror (5 June, 07:00), Leeds want to hold on to Phillips but they recognise that the 'lure of Champions League football' may prove too powerful for him to resist.

The Whites are bracing themselves for interest from Premier League champions Manchester City as well as runners-up Liverpool.

The Reds had hoped to sign Aurelien Tchouameni from AS Monaco, but he is seemingly bound for Real Madrid. Phillips has been identified as an alternative, and he's expected to cost around £60m.

It's not just the Premier League's top two who are interested, with Manchester United and West Ham also thought to have considered moves for the 26-year-old.

[web_stories_embed url="https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-updates-4/" title="Latest Leeds United updates!" poster="https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg" width="360" height="600" align="none"]

The verdict

Leeds will need to start planning for possible replacements if Phillips is lured away, and one candidate would appear to RB Leipzig's Tyler Adams, who worked with Jesse Marsch at the Red Bull Arena.

USA national team 'insider' Tom Bogert has suggested that Leeds will 'try' to land Adams during the summer transfer window, while journalist Jacques Talbot believes that the American would be a 'great addition' and a 'statement' signing.

Adams is still pretty young at just 23 and he would bring excellent work-rate and ball-carrying ability to Marsch's team, if his most recent seasonal figures are anything to go by.

In other news, read this journalist's significant Phillips claim.