Aston Villa to target Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips in the summer

Aston Villa to target Leeds star Kalvin Phillips this summer – with Steven Gerrard keen to bolster his midfield after missing out on Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur in January

• Aston Villa will target a move for Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips in the summer
• Gerrard is keen to bolster his midfield after missing out on two targets in January
• Phillips told Sportsmail in December he was keen to sign new contract at Leeds
• But there has been no apparent progress since, with current contract up in 2024

Kalvin Phillips is likely to figure on Aston Villa’s list of summer targets with Leeds bracing themselves for interest in their England star.

Villa boss Steven Gerrard and the club’s recruitment team have made central midfield a priority after missing out on Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur in January. Villa had a bid of about £25million turned down by Brighton for Bissouma while Bentancur joined Tottenham from Juventus.

Phillips’ contract at Elland Road expires at the end of the 2023-24 season and he has been out injured since December, which has put a huge dent in Leeds’ season. He told Sportsmail in December that he was keen to sign a new deal with the club but there has been no apparent progress since.

 Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips is likely to figure on Aston Villa’s list of summer targets

Steven Gerrard is keen to bolster midfield after missing out on two targets in January window

The club are in danger of relegation after losing six successive matches – the last of which was a 3-0 home defeat by Villa on Thursday in Jesse Marsch’s first home game as manager since replacing Marcelo Bielsa.

Phillips, 26, was also targeted by Villa in 2019, when Dean Smith led them to promotion from the Championship, but he stayed at Leeds and helped them reach the Premier League the following season.

Gerrard’s target is to secure Villa’s first top-half finish in the Premier League since 2011 and has now racked up three straight victories, ahead of Sunday’s trip to West Ham. 

Villa’s billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens will back the former England captain again in the summer, with reinforcements likely to be sought in central defence and in the full-back positions as well as in midfield, while Gerrard remains keen to extend Philippe Coutinho’s stay at Villa Park after signing his former Liverpool team-mate on loan from Barcelona in January.

Gerrard also remains keen to extend Philippe Coutinho’s (left) stay at Villa Park

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