Newcastle target Kalvin Phillips is now close to signing for Aston Villa – despite only joining Manchester City back in July.
It was Dean Jones who told Give Me Sport that Newcastle are keen to sign the England international, although it seems Aston Villa have now made serious progress.
What’s the story?
Well – according to N1 – Phillips is close to joining Aston Villa.
It is said that Manchester City are in talks to sign Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea, with the Blues happy to sell their No.8 due to the fact he has just 12 months left on his contract, as well as their own need to raise funds through sales.
The Croatia international would arrive to replace Phillips, who has struggled since his £45m move from Leeds back in July.

Manchester City’s No.4 has only made seven Premier League appearances this season – with none of those coming as starts.
Guardiola also told the media that Phillips returned from the World Cup overweight – which didn’t really help his situation at the Etihad Stadium by any means.
Kalvin Phillips to Aston Villa could be true
While any transfer rumour has to be taken with a pinch of salt, this one could have legs.
Aston Villa have tried to sign Phillips for many years now.
Leeds Live revealed that the Villans saw a £25m bid rejected for the Yorkshire Pirlo back in 2019, before talk of a move died down after the Whites earned promotion just months later.
The Times then claimed that Aston Villa were leading the race to sign Phillips from Leeds back in March 2022, before Manchester City got involved and blew their competitors out of the water with a huge financial offer.
Those at Villa Park are clearly huge fans of Phillips, so be sure to keep an eye on the situation to see if N1’s claim comes true.
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