Aston Villa are ‘ready to fork out a club-record £60million for Kalvin Phillips’ after Steven Gerrard pinpointed the Leeds star as his ‘No 1 midfield target this summer’
- Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is eyeing a move for Kalvin Phillips this summer
- The Leeds and England midfielder has emerged as Gerrard’s leading target
- Villa are prepared to pay a club-record £60million to prise him away from Leeds
- Gerrard is keen to strengthen in the middle of the park at the end of the season
Aston Villa are reportedly prepared to pay a club-record £60million to sign Kalvin Phillips from Leeds this summer.
Steven Gerrard is desperate to strengthen in midfield when the next transfer window comes around, especially given Douglas Luiz and Carney Chukwuemeka are expected to depart at the end of the season.
And according to The Telegraph, Phillips has emerged as Gerrard’s No 1 target to bring to Villa Park ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is eyeing a move for Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips this summer
Three years after the club last tried to prise him away from Elland Road, it is believed Villa will make another move for the Leeds and England star in the summer window.
A new defensive midfielder is a priority for them, as there remains a big gap between defence and attack because of the offensive qualities of John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey in midfield.
Villa have been crying out for a midfield anchor ever since they returned to the top flight in 2019, but former boss Dean Smith’s attempts to sign Phillips proved unsuccessful.
Gerrard is equally keen to add a midfielder capable of ‘screening’ in front of his back four this summer, and Phillips meets the criteria for the type of player he is looking for.
Gerrard wants to add a midfield anchor to his Villa side, and Phillips meets the criteria
Brighton star Yves Bissouma, whom Villa targeted in January, is also still on the club’s radar
However, with over two years still to run on his current United contract, and an extension offer reportedly on the table, it could be difficult for Villa to convince Leeds to sell.
He is not the only midfielder on their radar, nevertheless, as Gerrard is still understood to be eyeing a move for Brighton’s Yves Bissouma.
The Seagulls rejected a £25million offer from Villa for Bissouma in January, yet with both Luiz and Chukwuemeka set to leave they are poised to come back in for him over the summer.
Gerrard will hope to undergo a squad revamp in the West Midlands once the current campaign draws to a close, with a concerning run of three straight defeats raising question marks over several members of his squad.
Gerrard still expects to be backed by Villa chiefs in the summer as he eyes a squad revamp
And the Villa boss expects to be backed by the club hierarchy in the summer transfer window, saying at the weekend: ‘Now is the not the time to talk about figures and amounts. What the owners have done for this club has been phenomenal in terms of the backing. I don’t think they’ll change because given the communication I’ve had, they’re very ambitious and they want to win matches, as I do.
‘I think we are aligned from the top of the club to bottom. My close staff all know where we are strong and where we need support.
‘We took over a team 16th in the league and we’ve done ever so well to get into a safe position as we stand. We’ve had opportunities to go and grab positions above us but the league doesn’t lie. At the moment there’s a gap to the teams above us.’