"Pirlo esque", “Bona-fide international star": AVFC plot bid for £36m-rated brute - verdict

According to The Times, Aston Villa are leading the race for Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips, with the club willing to pay as much as £60m for the England international, despite having missed most of this season.

Manager Steven Gerrard is on the lookout for players to improve his midfield options, with Douglas Luiz potentially on his way out the exit door this summer, alongside £14m flop Morgan Sanson.

Phillips is not the only midfielder that has been shortlisted by the Midlands club, with Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma also being linked, but it appears that the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ is Gerrard’s top choice.

The transfer would shatter Villa’s record for most amount of money spent on a single player, but would the transfer fee be worth it for a club without European football to look forward to next season? Our writers give their verdicts below….

“It is difficult to understate how good Kalvin Phillips is at the job he does. Indeed, following Leeds’ promotion to the Premier League in 2020, the 26-year-old has quickly established himself as one of the most effective players in world football, with FBREF ranking the £36m-rated regista in the top 1% of midfielders in Europe’s big five leagues for pressures per 90, as well as the top 3% for blocks, the top 16% for tackles and the top 18% for interceptions.

“As such, it is not difficult to see why the Andrea Pirlo-esque talent has caught the eye of Steven Gerrard, as not only would Phillips be a major upgrade on Marvelous Nakamba, he could also prove to be the final piece of the puzzle in Aston Villa’s three-man midfield alongside John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey – something which, in my opinion, would be more than worth the £60m fee required to prise the England international away