Nottingham Forest, rather remarkably, were keen on singing Kalvin Phillips and Stuart Dallas from Leeds United in 2019, the Athletic say.
Phillips and Dallas have developed into key players for Leeds during Marcelo Bielsa’s time in charge.
However, the Athletic say that they were on Forest shortlist just two summers ago.
Leeds actually fought off interest in Phillips from Aston Villa that summer, who had just been promoted to the Premier League.
The fact that the England international’s name was also on Forest’s wishlist is at best ambitious and at worst misguided, as it was a deal that never looked likely to happen.
Phillips’s standing in the game has only grown since then too, with the Leeds midfielder playing a key role in earning the Whites promotion and impressing in the Premier League.
Forest, meanwhile, are still stuck in the Championship – and they will hope that their recruitment is more successful and crucially, realistic, under Chris Hughton.
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