Tottenham are reportedly keeping a close eye on out-of-favour Manchester City midfielder Calvin Phillips, 28.
“Tottenham are reportedly leading the race to sign Phillips,” said Team Talk in the UK on Wednesday.
Spurs are ahead of Newcastle United and Juventus in the race for Phillips.
Phillips is a central midfielder who joined Leeds’ youth team in 2010 and played for the Whites until 2022 before joining City in July 2022.
During his time at Leeds, he anchored the Whites’ midfield with his physicality, work rate, and clever play despite his lack of height at 5-foot-10.
He was nicknamed the “Yorkshire Pirlo” during his time at Leeds for his ability to intercept opponents’ passes as well as his powerful passing, which earned him a spot on England’s UEFA Euro 2020 squad.
Phillips played 37 games in the EFL Championship (England’s second tier) in the 2019-2020 season, helping Leeds to promotion. He was a key part of Leeds’ midfield in their first season in the Premier League in 2020-2021, making 29 appearances in the league.
However, his form declined after his move to City.
Frequent injuries kept him off the field, and after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he showed a lack of self-care, gaining enough weight to make normal training difficult. Some local media even described him as “shambling”.
His position this season hasn’t changed much. Pep Guardiola has been favoring Rodri over Phillips. As such, it was no secret that he was considering a move away in the winter transfer window. 바카라사이트 That’s why Newcastle and Juventus were salivating early on.
Add to that Tottenham, who have signed a defender and a striker and are now on the hunt for a midfielder.
“Manager Enze Postecoglou is looking for a midfielder to fill the void left by Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma, who are away at the Africa Cup of Nations,” says Team Talk, explaining why Spurs have put Phillips on their radar.
“Tottenham would have to pay City £5-6 million to sign Phillips on loan,” he added, citing Football Insider.
Meanwhile, Tottenham are also keeping tabs on Genoa midfielder Morten Friendrup, 22.
The Danish midfielder began playing for Genoa in January 2022 after spending time in the Danish youth ranks with Holvåk and Brønnby. Genoa paid a €3.9 million ($5.6 billion) transfer fee to bring him to the club.
After an adjustment period in his first year, he established himself as a regular midfielder for Genoa last season. Along with defender Dragucin, who recently joined Tottenham from Genoa, he helped lead the club to Serie A promotion.
Friendrup has also been working hard this season. He’s played in all 20 Serie A games through 13 days. He’s played full-time in all but one.
“Tottenham are likely to go back to the negotiating table with Genoa for Friendrup,” reports The Boot Room.