Leeds United want to sign Flynn Downes and former Ipswich Town team-mate Tristan Nydman would love to see the Swansea City playmaker get his big break in the Premier League, speaking to BBC Sport.
No one at Elland Road will be getting carried away just yet.
Yes, Leeds have won both of their last two league games, courtesy of stoppage-time winners against Norwich City and Wolves. But the distance to the relegation zone is still small enough to incur the odd sleepless night in West Yorkshire.
Furthermore, all four of the teams below Jesse Marsch’s side in the table – Everton, Burnley, Watford and Norwich – have played fewer than Leeds 30 games thus far.
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Everton and Burnley, for instance, have three matches in hand.
And Leeds supporters won’t need reminding as to what what relegation would mean. Not just a return to the dreaded Championship – a return to those midweek trips to Preston and Bristol City – but the potential departure of a man who has become the posterboy of the club’s rapid rise, from the depths of the second tier to the top-half of the Premier League.
Is Kalvin Phillips leaving Leeds United?
According to The Times, West Ham, Aston Villa and a host of other clubs are queuing up for the £60 million-rated Kalvin Phillips. If reports are to be believed, Leeds are preparing themselves for a worst-case scenario.
If Phillips goes, the impressive Downes may have to replace the irreplaceable.
“From what Swansea fans have been saying, Flynn has been incredible (this season),” says the recently-retired Nydman, who played alongside Downes at Portman Road.
“I’ve watched a few of their games. Hopefully, he ends up in the Premier League. Hopefully he plays for England.”
It’s not certain yet whether Leeds see Downes purely as a replacement for Phillips. Or someone who could also play alongside him in Jesse Marsch’s engine room.
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