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da bet nacional： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
Aston Villa’s pursuit of Kalvin Phillips has taken a massive blow according to The Sun, who claim Leeds have now slapped a £30m price tag on the defensive midfielder’s head.
What’s the word?
After releasing Mile Jedinak and Glenn Whelan, Villa are crying out for some steel to be added to their midfield.
Earlier this month The Telegraph reported that the Villans were eyeing a £14m deal for Phillips, but that situation has now changed according to The Sun.
They’ve suggested that Leeds are demanding £30m for him as Villa look to be priced out of a deal.
Only last week the club were linked with another defensive midfielder, Marvelous Nakamba.
Costly blunder
The fact of the matter is that if Villa cave into Leeds’ demands they’d be making a huge blunder.
Dean Smith’s men have already broken their transfer record to land Wesley this summer for £22m so a deal for Phillips would eclipse that by £8m.
Is it really worth it? Arguably not.
The Leeds man featured 44 times last season but at the top end of the game he’s still very much an unproven talent, having never played in the Premier League. To blow their transfer record out of the water, therefore, would be extremely questionable.
There is no denying the talent that Phillips has and his versatility of being able to play in defence too would be beneficial.
However, to potentially pay £30m for someone who has been playing in the Championship would be bordering on the ridiculous.
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The Zimbabwe Chronicle reported last week that Villa could pay £20m for Club Brugge’s Nakamba and given his performances in Europe last season, it would represent a far better deal.
Although he’s never played in England, he’s proven himself at the highest level, starring in draws against Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund and in a 4-0 win over Monaco in the Champions League. In that fixture he made a remarkable seven successful tackles.
Therefore, Villa must switch their focus to Nakamba, rather than being drawn into a £30m error.
The Zimbabwe international has performed at the highest level, whereas the Leeds midfielder has not.