Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has claimed Erling Haaland is a "massive Leeds fan" and that the pair have spoken about taking a trip to Elland Road.
Phillips has just recovered from a shoulder injury and is still hoping to make the cut for Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the World Cup. He swapped Leeds for Manchester in the summer but has played just three times for City due to his injury.
He is in line for minutes against Chelsea in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash as he tries to regain fitness ahead of Qatar. Norwegian Haaland, meanwhile, who will be resting during the World Cup, will be hoping to add to his 23-goal tally before the international break.
READ MORE: Man City star Kalvin Phillips issues injury update and outlines World Cup intentions
He returned from a foot knock to bag a stoppage-time winner from the penalty spot in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Fulham. During Haaland’s superstar welcome to the Etihad in the summer, images of him wearing his father’s City shirt as a young boy were shown and shared.
Upon his arrival, the 22-year-old said: “I have been a City fan my whole life.” However, it appears the Leeds-born attacker has another team he adores.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5Live, Phillips - who will return to Elland Road for the first time since his move on December 28 in City’s first game back after the World Cup - said: "Erling Haaland is a Leeds fan, yeah.
“Obviously I'm looking forward to going back to Elland Road, it'll be an unbelievable moment for me. It'll be a strange moment when I walk into the away dressing room, the fans not singing my name.
"But it will be one of the good moments in what's been a tough start to the season, so hopefully it'll be a good reception. Obviously I'm still a massive Leeds fan, I actually went to their game against Fulham.
"And Erling, he's a massive Leeds fan as well. We've actually talked about going to Elland Road together to watch a big game as well so Leeds fans need to watch out for us in the stand." Haaland's father, Alfie, played for Leeds between 1997 and 2000, making 87 appearances in all.
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