Kieran Phillips returned to Championship strugglers Huddersfield Town on loan on deadline day.
Huddersfield Town have signed a forward with ‘loads of potential’ in the shape of Everton loanee Kieran Phillips, academy manager Leigh Bromby has told the Examiner.
It might have been a rather quiet transfer window for The Toffees but the deadline day departure of a 19-year-old striker still went somewhat under the radar.
Phillips scored a remarkable 12 goals in 12 games for the Merseyside giants in the U18 Premier League in the first half of the season but he will now spent the rest of the 2019/20 campaign in West Yorkshire after agreeing a short-term loan deal.
The prolific teen has hit the ground running at Huddersfield already, netting twice in a 3-1 win against Tranmere’s reserves this week. And Bromby feels that the Championship strugglers have a potential star on their hands.
“We see loads of potential in him. He’ll get a lot of minutes on the pitch within our games programme and we’ll work hard to improve all areas of his game,” the former Sheffield United defender said of Phillips, who actually started out at Huddersfield before joining Everton as a 13-year-old.
“We’ve kept a close eye on him ever since and moved quickly to take this opportunity once it arose.”
Everton have one of the most prosperous academies in English football at the moment with David Unsworth’s U23 side winning the Premier League 2 title in two of the last three seasons, catapulting the likes of Tom Davies, Mason Holgate and Dominic Calvert-Lewin into The Toffees’ first-team plans.
But it remains to be seen whether Phillips will return to Finch Farm in the summer and follow in their footsteps. Huddersfield will be desperate to keep hold of a prodigal son who they have already lost once before.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
