PL club signed the ideal Phillips replacement just 5 mins before Leeds sold midfielder – opinion

Follow us on Google Discover

Leeds United announced the sale of Kalvin Phillips at 10AM on Monday morning, and now, the hunt for his successor is on.

Tyler Adams and Mohamed Camara have been linked, and while both players would be handy for the Whites in that role, in our view, the perfect Phillips replacement was, sadly, signed by another Premier League club just five minutes before Phillips was announced as a Man City player.

We’re talking about Fulham’s new boy Joao Palhinha.

The Portuguese midfielder has been on Leeds’ radar in the past, and there’s reason to believe that he could have been the ideal Phillips successor.

So, what does a player need if they are to replace the Yorkshire Pirlo? Well, while Phillips’ nickname may suggest that his primary skill is his playmaking ability, Leeds fans know that the defensive midfielder’s ability to break up play and win back possession are his true key attributes.

When it comes to winning the ball back in the midfield, they don’t come better than Palhinha.

According to The Athletic’s research, Palhinha, ranks in the top one per cent of players in terms of defensive intensity and disrupting opposition moves, while he also ranks within the top 10 per cent of players in terms of link-up play volume – indicating that he could easily have taken up Phillips’ role as Leeds’ quarter-back.

Of course, stats aren’t everything and Palhinha has only played in Portugal, but it is important to note that the stats used by The Athletic were adjusted for Premier League quality and the Portuguese destroyer still ranked amongst the best in the division.

At just £20m, Palhinha would have been well within Leeds’ ballpark, and with O Jogo reporting in 2020 that the Whites had enquired about the 26-year-old, he’s certainly a player Victor Orta was aware of too.

Unfortunately for Leeds, Fulham got there first, and while the Whites may have a trick up their sleeve, it’s hard to imagine them signing a midfielder as well-suited to replacing Phillips as Palhinha would have been.