Here are your Leeds United evening headlines on Wednesday, March 30.
Southgate makes Phillips claim
Gareth Southgate has hinted that Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips is firmly still in his plans ahead of this year's Qatar World Cup despite missing the recent international break through injury. The 26-year-old hasn't featured since December 5 with a hamstring issue and sat out of England's friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast.
Impressive performances from Conor Gallagher and Jude Bellingham in the March break has poised questions over who Southgate selects as the starting midfielders. Bellingham was one of the stars of the show on Tuesday as the Three Lions beat Ivory Coast 3-0, while Gallagher impressed against Switzerland.
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However, Phillips was a mainstay in the England side during Euro 2020 last summer, featuring in all seven matches at the tournament. And despite the uncertainty around Phillips' Three Lions future, Southgate believes that Phillips has the 'tactical awareness' to play in his system.
"He [Bellingham] might end up being able to play a bit deeper [than the number eight] but at the moment he wants to go and press and that takes him out of the defensive positions a little bit too early,” he said in his press conference.
"It’s a bit like Gallagher. They want to go and press. So at the moment they are not going to have the stability to play as one of the deeper players, as a double pivot.
"You could do it in a 3-4-3. But the likes of Rice, Henderson and Phillips have the tactical awareness that are going to be important in those positions."
Everton suffer humongous losses
Leeds United's Premier League rivals Everton have published their accounts for the 2020/21 campaign and although the numbers make for grim reading for Toffees supporters, the club are reportedly confident of avoiding a points deduction. As outlined by the Liverpool Echo, Everton have posted losses of £120.9m for the most recent financial year, which when added to the £139.9m losses recorded for the previous year, takes the club past the £260m for the last financial two years.
That number is the highest in the Premier League for the last two financial years and paints a picture of challenges in the face of unprecedented circumstances. According to the Echo report, around £170m of the £260.8m lost over the last two financial years is directly attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by the club.
The precarious league position currently held by Everton means a points deduction would have the potential to prove costly but according to the Liverpool Echo, there is a confidence behind the scenes that the club are in a comfortable state regarding financial fair play. As demonstrated by the plight of Derby County, failing to comply with financial fair play regulations can land clubs in hot water but senior officials at Everton are reportedly confident they are in a strong position.
Harte makes Alioski admission
Leeds United should have done 'everything in their power to keep' Gjanni Alioski last summer. That's according to former Republic of Ireland defender Ian Harte, who believes the Whites made a mistake by not keeping the North Macedonia left-back at the club.
The 30-year-old left the Whites at the end of the 2020/21 season after his contract came to an end. He decided to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli and has since scored six goals in 23 appearances.
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However, Alioski was a firm fans' favourite at Elland Road and was recognised for his energy and pressing, which suited him so well in Marcelo Bielsa's system. During his time at Leeds, he made 170 appearances and had a major role in their Championship-winning campaign, playing in all but seven games.
Alioski's absence has been felt as Leeds have struggled to replace him in that position, with Junior Firpo failing to impress following his £13million move from Barcelona last July. Harte doesn't believe that Firpo is the long-term solution and believes they should've done more to keep Alioski.
"I like Alioski who left at the end of last season, I think Leeds should have done everything in their power to keep him, he told Freebets.com. They brought in Firpo from Barcelona, but he’s not a patch on Alioski: energy, desire, hunger to get up and down the pitch.
"These players come from Barcelona and Real Madrid, but they’ve never actually played for the clubs. I just think they should have kept Alioski, he was brilliant, and all the players loved him."
