Kalvin Phillips’ move from Leeds United to Manchester City is set to make him the 10th most expensive English player of all-time. The two clubs have agreed a fee of £42m for the England midfielder with confirmation of the deal seemingly not too far away.
Whites supporters had become very much resigned to losing star players such as Phillips and Raphinha, although they are frustrated by the amount they are due to receive. Something closer to the £60m mark was the expectation amongst the Elland Road faithful for their star centre midfielder which has led to further questions being asked of the club’s hierarchy.
The frustration is only further exacerbated by the amount exchanged between Premier League clubs for English players in the last few years. Man City spent £100m on Jack Grealish only last summer while Manchester United’s £80m outlay on Harry Maguire in 2019 continues to be mentioned when discussing transfer fees.
READ MORE: Why Leeds United stats with and without Kalvin Phillips are misleading
Until the Phillips departure is confirmed, Rio Ferdinand remains comfortably the most expensive player Leeds have ever sold. The £30m Manchester United spent on the centre-back 20 years ago dwarves the £15m Burnley paid for Chris Wood five years ago.
As far as purely English players go, there are nine players – including Grealish and Maguire – that have fetched a higher fee than Phillips which only further highlights why Leeds fans are annoyed. Presuming the deal is fully agreed and then confirmed, here is the list of the 10 most expensive English players of all time:
1. Jack Grealish (Aston Villa to Manchester City) £100m
2. Harry Maguire (Leicester City to Manchester United) £80m
3. Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United) £73m
4. Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur to Manchester City) £53m
5. Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace to Manchester United) £50m
6. Ben Chilwell (Leicester City to Chelsea) £50m
7. Ben White (Brighton & Hove Albion to Arsenal) £50m
8. Raheem Sterling (Liverpool to Manchester City) £49m
9. John Stones (Everton to Manchester City) £47.5m
10. Kalvin Phillips* (Leeds United to Manchester City) £42m (to be confirmed)
