According to Leeds Live, Villa were interested in signing Phillips from Leeds in the summer of 2019.
The report claims that the Villans made a bid of over £25 million, while two other clubs in the Premier League also made offers.
However, the 24-year-old did not leave Elland Road, and the English midfielder has played a key role in getting the Whites back to the Premier League.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side have won the Championship title and will play in the top flight of English football next season for the first time since 2004.
Kinnear has raved about Phillips, and he has outlined his commitment and loyalty to Leeds.
Kinnear told Leeds Live: “If you wanted an example of what makes this club truly special, it’s very difficult to talk about club loyalty existing in football nowadays. I don’t think it exists. But it existed with Kalvin Phillips.
“Kalvin Phillips made an absolutely crazy financial decision to stay with Leeds United for another year. It made no sense.
“But he did it because he believed in the club. He loves the club. And he wanted to take us back where we belong.
“We asked him to give us one more year and you’ll be playing for Leeds United in the Premier League.”
Superb footballer
Phillips is one of the best midfielders in the Championship and has improved a lot over the past two seasons under Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa.
It will be interesting to see how the 24-year-old does in the Premier League next season.
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