Michael Dawson has claimed that he has been left ‘shocked’ by the claims that Kalvin Phillips is earning ‘£25k-a-week’ at Leeds United.
The former centre-back added that the England midfielder would need to ‘quadruple’ that at Leeds given his rising status.
Over the weekend, Phillips returned to action following a long-term injury, as Jesse Marsch’s side recorded a 1-1 draw against Southampton.
The last time Phillips was out on the field, it was Marcelo Bielsa in the dugout, but a lot has changed since then.
Nonetheless, when Dawson was told about Phillips’ rumoured wages, he issued this response on Sky Sports News.
“Well, he needs to quadruple that,” said Dawson. “After the Euros, you think surely they have gone and said ‘we are giving you a new contract’.
“That just makes people unhappy. He is in the starting XI for England every single week. If he’s fit, him and Declan Rice play. So that surprises me if that’s right.
“He’s a Leeds boy and it’s where he has always been. He could go and get £150k-a-week anywhere else. Realistically, if someone paid £60-70 million for him.
“They don’t want to lose him. They can’t lose him. If you are saying ‘no we aren’t letting you go’, then you have to get paid like that then, that’s the problem.
“Knock on the door ‘if you are saying I am a £60 million worth of a player’. Then that has to be a £100k-a-week player. It has to be – That surprises me that. I think it’s shocked us all that.”
From the fresh-faced teenager in the Championship, the boyhood Leeds fan has made quite the improvements to his game.
Bielsa has played a huge part in that because he transformed the attack-minded midfielder into a defensive rock in the middle of the park.
That same player was one of England’s best players at Euro 2020 and he will be hoping to be on the plane for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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