Stuart Dallas’ contract must be Leeds’ priority after Phillips talks

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Leeds United are reportedly working to tie Kalvin Phillips down to a new contract at Elland Road.

Unsurprisingly, Leeds’ focus away from the pitch appears to be on extending Kalvin Phillips’ contract with the midfielder continuing to be a revelation in arguably the most important position in Marcelo Bielsa’s system.

The Yorkshire Evening Post reports that talks are ongoing over a fresh deal with Phillips’ current terms having less than two years to run and Premier League clubs well aware of the academy graduate’s quality.

Leeds announcing a new contract for Phillips would be a huge boost amid all of the speculation surrounding his future. But the Whites should not relax should they manage to tie the 23-year-old down with other players also proving a point to the club’s hierarchy.

And perhaps no player should be higher on the club’s list of priorities once Phillips’ future is resolved than Stuart Dallas, with the Northern Ireland international producing an outstanding start to the new season.

Dallas appeared to turn a corner towards the end of the last campaign and has carried that form into this term, proving to be a brilliant replacement for Luke Ayling at right-back. At this stage, it appears that the former Bristol City man is going to have to bide his time before getting back into the team.

The Yorkshire Evening Post suggests that the winger’s contract expires at the end of the season, so it may be the ideal time to reward him for his current run of form by looking to extend his deal beyond the coming summer.

Dallas may, of course, want to solely concentrate on his football for the time-being while he is doing so well, but he has definitely done enough in the opening weeks of the season to earn those fresh terms.

Bielsa clearly has a huge amount of faith in Dallas’ ability. He has probably featured in more positions than any other player since Bielsa arrived, and making sure that his future is resolved before it becomes any kind of issue for the club and player could be the perfect way for Leeds to recognise the transformation that Dallas has enjoyed under the current boss.