Elland Road. (Photo by Lee Smith - Pool/Getty Images)Elland Road. (Photo by Lee Smith - Pool/Getty Images)
Elland Road. (Photo by Lee Smith - Pool/Getty Images)

Leeds United rumours: Radrizzani set to walk away from Serie A deal, Fresh talks for Whites target

Micah Richards has admitted that he has been caught off guard by the extent to which Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips has flourished over the past year.

The 25-year-old enjoyed a stellar campaign at Elland Road, and has subsequently established himself as a key member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

Richards is in little doubt that he is fully deserving of his spot in the manager’s plans.

Writing in a column for the Daily Mail, he said: “Before the start of last season, I was asked to pick a player from each club as one to watch. It was one of my first tasks as a Sportsmail columnist.

"For Leeds, my selection was Kalvin Phillips I’d watched them a lot during their promotion campaign and knew he was good.

“‘It is hard to get on the ball and play in the Championship but he did it brilliantly,’ I wrote in September. ‘He is known as a defensive midfielder, for tackling and hard work and stuff like that, but don’t put him in a bracket. He can go up another level.’

“I got that last sentence wrong. He’s gone up another two or three levels and his performance against Germany was just sensational.

“When you watch him live in a stadium, you can see there is so much more, how good he is on the ball. Phillips is going to be an England player for a very long time.”

We’ve gathered the best of today’s Premier League speculation in the pages below…