Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips hopes may have been boosted by new Aston Villa rumour

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Aston Villa are reportedly keen on Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu.

Aston Villa have splashed the cash already this summer, bringing in Jota and Wesley whilst securing the signature of winger Anwar El Ghazi on a permanent basis.

That has taken Villa’s spending to over £30million, and Dean Smith still needs more reinforcements this summer if Villa are to stay in the Premier League.

One position he must strengthen is holding midfield, as he’s just released veteran duo Mile Jedinak and Glenn Whelan, meaning a combative anchor man is needed to sit behind John McGinn and Jack Grealish.

Last week, The Telegraph reported that Villa were set to launch a £14million bid for Leeds ace Kalvin Phillips, even though the Leeds-born ace isn’t exactly pushing for an exit even after the Whites missed out on promotion.

Leeds fans have been slightly worried that they’ll have to cash in on Phillips to meet Financial Fair Play regulations, but their hopes of keeping Phillips may have been boosted.

The Guardian now claim that Villa want to take Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu on loan, with coach John Terry potentially calling in a favour from his former club to bring the Welsh teenager to Villa Park.

Of course, Villa could sign both, but that makes little sense. Chelsea will want guarantees that the 18-year-old will play regularly, so it makes no sense to splash the cash on Phillips for him to play second fiddle to a youngster.

Ampadu may be easier to sign than Phillips, and won’t cost much to bring in either. They play exactly the same position, and have the same versatility, being able to slot in and play at centre back if needed, and Villa may feel that saving their cash to sign Tyrone Mings permanently is more sensible than splashing it on Phillips.

That’s all music to the ears of Leeds fans, and they’ll be hoping to see Ampadu make a move to Villa Park sooner rather than later, just to cross Villa off the list of potential suitors for Phillips as they aim to keep their key midfielder at Elland Road.