Pundit reacts as Tottenham plot move for Manchester City ace Kalvin Phillips, ‘huge competition’ predicted
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…
Tottenham are set to face “huge competition” for in-demand Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips in January, Paul Robinson has said.
Tottenham News revealed on 21 December that the England international is poised to be Spurs’ top midfield target when the window re-opens on 1 January.
It was reported by Fabrizio Romano reported on Thursday (21 December) that Ange Postecoglou will “100 per cent” sign a new centre-back next month but Tottenham News understands that City outcast Phillips will be high on the list if the club also decide to move for a midfielder.
There is likely to be a queue of suitors lining up for Phillips, though, with Juventus (ESPN) and Newcastle United (ESPN) having both been linked to his signature.
Robinson talked up the qualities of Phillips and thinks he would fit straight into Ange Postecoglou’s system at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Speaking to Tottenham News, he said: “I think they’d have huge competition for him because I like Kalvin as a player and I’ve seen it first hand at Leeds for several years and seeing him as a person what kind of character he is.
“Pep Guardiola has spoken openly about what kind of character he is, he’s a fantastic character to have around the dressing room, to have in that squad.
“You look at this lack of game time at Manchester City you don’t hear a peep, you don’t hear a murmur. He’s fit, he’s strong, he’s ready to play if and when required even for a footballer who isn’t playing.
“He’s a great personality to have around the place but people forget his qualities because he hasn’t been getting minutes at Manchester City.
“There’s links to Juventus, there’s links to Newcastle, there’s links to Tottenham and those links are there because he’s a top-quality player and he will play at the top level.
“I think his time probably is up at Manchester City if he does want to play first-team football regularly he does have to move on.
“I’d be delighted if he came to Tottenham, with (Rodrigo) Bentancur’s recurrence of injuries it’s been a problem. Pape Sarr’s played in there, (Giovani) Lo Celso’s played in there, (Oliver) Skipp’s played in there.
“But to have someone of Kalvin Phillips’ quality who is very rarely injured, I think he would be a great addition to the squad and I think he would fit straight into the starting XI.”
In other Tottenham news, Hugo Lloris could have his contract cancelled.