After several weeks of rumoured interest, Leeds United agreed a fee with Manchester City for the sale of Kalvin Phillips to the Premier League Champions. There are various reports around the fee, ranging from £42-55 million, with the Leeds midfielder reportedly set on moving to Pep Guardiola's side, meaning that the Whites could not take advantage of a bidding war and drive up the price of one of their star players.
However, Manchester United have been told that they made a mistake by not formally entering into the race to sign Phillips, as they require a player in his role. Leeds' historical rivals were rumoured to have been very interested in the England star throughout the season but did not make a bid. Tony Cascarino told TalkSport that failing to make a bid meant they missed out on a player they 'sorely need'.
"I don't know why Man United have not made a move on Kalvin Phillips," said the former Chelsea man. "They may say 'well we tried to but he'd already decided on Man City' but he is exactly what Man United need, for me."
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The pundit did appear to recognise that Phillips may not have wanted to move to Old Trafford, due to Leeds' rivalry with the red side of Manchester. In fact, it had been reported several times that the Red Devils have known this for some time, which is why their interest cooled. Cascarino said:
"He might not have wanted to go there and that might be the reason but there doesn't seem to have been any competition for a club that I think sorely need that type of player. I think it's a huge miss in their team. A ball winning player who can keep it and let other players do their thing. He does that as well as anybody."
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