Kalvin Phillips will not join a club like West Ham United and will instead wait for a move to a top-four outfit who can offer him quadruple his current salary, BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Danny Mills has said.

On 21 March, Football Insider revealed that the Hammers are lining up a new bid for the 26-year-old, with the east London club are prepared to offer him an “enormous” salary to secure his signature.

However, The Times reported that Leeds will attempt to fend off the likes of the Irons and Aston Villa by offering the midfielder a new deal, with his current contract set to expire in the summer of 2024.

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The Latest: Mills’ claim on Phillips

Mills, who regularly features as a pundit on BBC Radio 5 Live, claimed that a move to West Ham or Aston Villa would be a sideways step for Phillips. Speaking with Football Insider, the former Leeds defender proclaimed:

“I’m not convinced that level would be enough for him to make a move.

“If Leeds offer him a decent new deal that is comparable to Villa or West Ham, is that enough to move? Perhaps not.

“If it’s a top-four, top-five side I think it’s different and Leeds fans won’t like that.

“He’s 26, coming up to 27, he’s only got one big contract left. At the end of this contract, he’ll be 29, nobody is going to spend fortunes on him at 29. That’s not going to happen.

“If he wants to stay at Leeds and the offers are comparable because they are a big club going places and could easily be in Villa and West Ham’s situation next season.

“But if you’re talking about Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and even Man United or maybe Tottenham or Arsenal it becomes different.

“He’ll get four times as much money going there. People will say it’s not about money, well, it is.

“Say he’s playing as well as Declan Rice, for example, and he is getting paid four or five times more than you why would you not want that? Why would you not want parity?

“If one club will give you it and one club won’t, it’s easy to say he’ll stay because he’s Leeds through and through. He won’t unfortunately. That’s the harsh reality of football.”

The Verdict: Tough signing to secure

Whilst this would be a tough signing for West Ham to pull off, Phillips would be an amazing addition to David Moyes' current squad.

The Yorkshireman could slot into midfield next to Declan Rice, whom he partnered for the England national side during Euro 2020. It was during that tournament that the midfield duo were praised by Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez, who was left impressed with their performances throughout the finals.

Therefore, if the Irons can secure the lucrative signing of Phillips and recreate the Three Lions midfield partnership at club level, it would be a massive coup and would deliver quite the riposte to the doubtful Mills.

In other news: West Ham are interested in this Championship wizard