Kalvin Phillips to Newcastle collapses despite brutal injury blow; Three Prem sides ready to strike Man City deal
West Ham, Crystal Palace and Everton could succeed where Newcastle failed after the Magpies walked away from signing Manchester City midfielder, Kalvin Phillips, despite Joelinton’s injury being worse than first feared, according to reports.
Phillips, 28, does not appear to have a future at Man City. The holding midfielder is sparingly used by Pep Guardiola and even a pair of suspensions for Rodri did not offer Phillips any extra game-time earlier this season.
Guardiola ruthlessly admitted that try as he might, he simply cannot envision any way in which Phillips should be making his starting elevens.
Man City were open to offloading the England international last summer, though the player elected to stay and fight for his place.
But with Phillips’ situation unchanged at the halfway mark in the season and doubts creeping in over his viability for England at Euro 2024, Phillips is now open to moving on.
A loan with an option/obligation to buy is the likeliest outcome and the initial expectation was Newcastle would be his next destination.
The Magpies have seen their season decimated by injuries, while Sandro Tonali is absent while serving a 10-month ban for breaching betting regulations.
Joelinton injury requires surgery
Joelinton has been a revelation since moving into midfield, though per the report, his season may have ended prematurely.
The Brazilian sustained a groin injury that was initially expected to rule him out for around six weeks.
However, Joelinton has now been told he requires surgery to repair the issue and undergoing the operation would come with a four-month rehabilitation programme.
The Magpies will seek a second opinion before booking the procedure. Nonetheless, there is growing belief surgery will be required and Joelinton’s season is over.
Newcastle abandon Phillips pursuit
According to the Telegraph, Newcastle believed striking a deal for Phillips with City would be relatively straightforward.
However, over a fortnight into the winter window it’s now emerged Man City’s high demands have torpedoed Newcastle’s hopes.
The report states that as it stands, Phillips to Newcastle is OFF. Explaining why, it’s noted Newcastle believe City’s request for a £7m loan fee is too much to stomach.
Furthermore, City also want most if not all of Phillips’ approximately £135,000-a-week wages paid by the loaning club.
There’s also the issue of City gunning for an obligation to buy worth somewhere in the £40m-£50m range.
Newcastle have very little room for manoeuvrer with regards to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.
Committing to £40m-£50m for Phillips while also needing £28m to turn Lewis Hall’s loan from Chelsea permanent is not viewed as good business by the club.
The Telegraph concluded that while the situation could change later in the window as desperation from either side grows, Phillips to Newcastle is off the cards as of now.
Three Prem sides hovering
Phillips also won’t be joining Juventus either after the Italian giant pulled out of the race last week.
Taking to X, trusted journalist, Fabrizio Romano, revealed: “Juventus have no intention to proceed for Kalvin Phillips deal at current conditions after talks with Man City on loan fee/salary coverage.”
Instead, Sky Sports list three Premier League sides who could try their hand at succeeding where Newcastle and Juventus have not.
Sky state West Ham, Crystal Palace and Everton are all in the mix and several of them have already contacted Man City to lodge approaches.
The Everton route would appear to be the least likely of the three given the club’s well-documented financial woes. A Toffees move would be reliant on selling a player first, such as the in-demand Amadou Onana.
West Ham’s interest is labelled ‘long-standing’ and manager David Moyes does have a penchant for signing experienced British players.
Sky conclude the main barrier to joining West Ham is being asked to absorb Phillips’ full salary during the initial loan.
