{"id":294944,"date":"2023-11-11T23:54:59","date_gmt":"2023-11-11T23:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=294944"},"modified":"2023-11-11T23:54:59","modified_gmt":"2023-11-11T23:54:59","slug":"liverpool-backed-to-sign-kalvin-phillips-in-january-but-must-haggle-on-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/liverpool-backed-to-sign-kalvin-phillips-in-january-but-must-haggle-on-price\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool backed to sign Kalvin Phillips in January but must haggle on price"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Liverpool have been backed to complete a January deal for Manchester City star Kalvin Phillips. However, former Reds right-back Glen Johnson has warned his old club against overspending on the England international.<\/p>\n
Phillips has continued to struggle for game time at City this season. The midfielder has made just two Premier League starts since joining from Leeds for \u00a342million in the summer of 2022.<\/p>\n
Neither of those have come this term and he has been linked with a move away in the winter. Newcastle are said to be interested and are in need of a midfielder following the 10-month ban imposed on Sandro Tonali for breaching betting rules.<\/p>\n
But Liverpool are also among the clubs linked with Phillips. Jurgen Klopp oversaw a major overhaul of his midfield in the summer, letting five players leave and bringing in four.<\/p>\n
Read more… <\/strong> Premier League vote to block Ruben Neves to Newcastle transfer may backfire<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Defensive midfield is still an area that needs addressing though and Johnson believes Phillips would fit the bill. However, he doesn’t think he would be worth spending over \u00a350m on as he has barely played for City.<\/p>\n Johnson told Betfred: “If the price is right. I like him and he\u2019s that sort of player who is happy to sit in that deep midfield role, win the ball back and feed it back to someone else, so I do think he would fit the bill, but not if you\u2019re talking \u00a350m to \u00a360m when he\u2019s hardly played.<\/p>\n “If you\u2019re trying to compete with these top teams whilst signing the players they don\u2019t want, then you won\u2019t be scaring the likes of Manchester City.”<\/p>\n Alexis Mac Allister was the first midfielder Liverpool signed in the summer. He has had to play as a No 6 for the majority of the season so far.<\/p>\n\n