Agbonlahor says Villa should sign ‘outstanding’ Phillips

Aston Villa have been putting a square peg in a round hole with Douglas Luiz operating as a makeshift defensive-midfielder, but Steven Gerrard will address the issue this summer by bringing in a natural deep-lying player to shield the backline.

Marvelous Nakamba can provide cover in front of the defence but has been sidelined with a knee injury since December 2021. Morgan Sanson is a makeshift option but isn’t trusted by Gerrard and doesn’t command a starting place. He’s amassed only 280 minutes of Premier League football this season.

Gerrard will have to dip into the transfer market as a result and Gabriel Agbonlahor says Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips would be the perfect option. Villa have been linked with Olympique Marseille’s Boubacar Kamara and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Yves Bissouma, but Agbonlahor says Phillips is a better signing.

He told Football Insider: “If Kalvin Phillips is available you hold out for him rather than Bissouma. I like Bissouma but Phillips has been outstanding for Leeds since he broke into the side, outstanding for England, especially at the Euros.

“I think he would be an immense signing and I’m sure Steven Gerrard would love to get that over the line. He will look at the project of Aston Villa and see it as more exciting than the Leeds project at the moment.” The 26-year-old has made 226 appearances in all competitions for United, scoring 14 goals with 13 assists.

He’s long been regarded as one of the best defensive-midfielders in the Premier League and has international pedigree. The stumbling block will be Leeds’ reluctance to sell and an alleged £60m asking price, however, so time will tell if Villa can get their man.

In other news, Gabriel Agbonlahor says Leon Bailey should