Cashing in on Phillips and Raphinha gives a club like Leeds no guarantees

The good news for Leeds is that last season’s injury crisis means they have had plenty of practice playing without their stars. The bad news is that this time it’s permanent. Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha are both on their way and so Leeds, suddenly but not unpredictably, are cast in the familiar position of a club on the rise seeing their greatest assets are stripped away and needing to rebuild. The inevitability of the pattern is one of the great sadnesses of the financial structures of modern football.

Phillips is 26. He was born in Leeds. He is a Leeds fan. He joined the academy when he was 14. He has played more than 200 league games for the club. But not even the most blinkered Leeds fan could realistically blame him for accepting an offer from Manchester City. He will make far more money, play under one of the greatest coaches ever and be in contention for the most prestigious prizes. Leeds, in fact, may think themselves lucky they were able to keep him for so long.

Raphinha is 25. When he was 19 he made the hop from Brazil to Portugal, moving from Vitória Guimarães to Sporting before going on to Rennes, from where Leeds picked him up in 2020. For him, each club has been a step up the ladder; it’s no criticism to say that from the moment he arrived at Leeds he was looking at where he could go next. Assuming Chelsea are where he ends up, that is a clear progression and perhaps all the more important in a World Cup year as he seeks to confirm his place in the Brazil side. Again, that is simply how modern football is: nobody has let anybody down or performed an act of betrayal.

This is the problem for clubs below the elite level. Whether you develop your own players or sign promising talent from elsewhere, eventually