Tottenham’s reported signing of Yves Bissouma for just £25million should prick up a few ears at Elland Road. The 25-year-old has been one of the outstanding central midfielders in the Premier League over the last couple of seasons and has courted interest in the past from Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United.
Losing a player of such quality and influence for just £25million must be a punch in the gut for Seagulls fans, who have seen the Mali international blossom into one of the most promising all-action midfielders in the world. It must also be a lesson to other clubs that if you are going to keep hold of your key players you must tie them down to a new contract.
That is the lesson Leeds must learn from this sale, with Manchester City's interest in Kalvin Phillips intensifying. The Premier League champions see Phillips as a successor to the departing Fernandinho and could table a bid for the Whites midfielder in the coming weeks.
READ MORE: Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips told move to Manchester City 'very difficult' to turn down
If that offer matches the club’s valuation and their lynchpin makes clear his desire to move, then there is every chance of a sale. But if the Whites resist and Phillips stays, then the two parties must come together and sign a contract extension.
Bissouma has long been a target of the Premier League elite, with Liverpool and Man Utd eyeing the midfielder in the summer of 2021. The midfielder was contracted at the AMEX for another year and Seagulls owner Tony Bloom was stubborn in his demands for at least £40million, according to the Athletic .
An acceptable offer never arrived and Brighton kept their midfield general for the 2021/2022 season, but a failure to tie Bissouma down to a new contract put the club on the back foot, and they are now in a vulnerable negotiating position: sell at a cut price now or lose their key asset for free next summer - it looks likely that they are to opt for the former.
Brighton are not in a financial position to lose out on £25million, and nor would Leeds be next summer if the same situation arises. The club have valued Phillps at £60million, but coming into next summer with just one year left on a deal could more than half that.
Phillips is contracted at Elland Road until 2024 and that puts the club in the driving seat this summer, but if they fail to learn from Brighton’s issue then they could suffer the same crushing fate.
