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Phil Hay has dropped an update on Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, regarding his injury status heading into the international break.

What’s the latest?

According to The Athletic’s Leeds correspondent, Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips has withdrawn from the England squad with a minor knock.

However, despite that blow, the reporter confirmed a big boost for Leeds in the process.

Hay claims that Phillips has a ‘good chance’ of being fit enough to face Southampton after the international break, with his injury not set to rule him out for a prolonged period of time.

Big boost

This news will leave fans feeling delighted as it is a big boost for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Losing Phillips for the clash against Southampton, and possibly beyond that, would have been a sizeable blow to the squad and would have left the Argentine coach needing to tinker with his XI to compensate for Phillips’ absence.

The defensive midfielder has been a crucial figure in the Leeds team under Bielsa, with 34 Premier League starts to his name since the beginning of last season. He averaged a sublime WhoScored rating of 7.01 as he bossed the midfield in the top-flight, earning himself recognition for his country in doing so.

England manager Gareth Southgate admitted that he had faith that Phillips would be able to become an important member of his squad at international level. He said.

“He’s been excellent. The way he has taken to international football, it hasn’t surprised us because what we’d seen with Leeds, even in the Championship, we felt could convert into our team.

“We felt he could play an important role with us. To play in the enormity of the matches he did in the summer and play as well as he did is massive credit to him.”

This played out in the summer as the Leeds man played seven times in the European Championships as England lost the final on penalties to Italy.

Whilst this illustrates his quality and shows why his fitness will come as a big boost to Bielsa and leave fans delighted, there is also a lack of depth in his position. Phillips was absent on the opening day of the season against Manchester United and Robin Koch was forced to operate in the holding midfield role, with Leeds losing 5-1 at Old Trafford.

The Whites do not have a natural holding midfielder to cover for Phillips when he is not on the pitch and that is another reason why this injury only being a minor one will delight supporters.

This could also be an area for Victor Orta to look at in the January window as signing a back-up in his position could ease any fears over his availability in the future.

AND in other news, Leeds must sanction swoop for £8.5m gem with “crazy technique”, he’s Raphinha 2.0…

Leeds United will find it hard to keep hold of Kalvin Phillips if Manchester United bid for him in January, according to Alex McLeish.

The Lowdown: Phillips linked with United move

The 25-year-old has matured into one of the best midfielders in the country, producing consistently excellent performances for Leeds and also winning England’s Player of the Year award.

With his reputation seemingly being enhanced by the week, Phillips has unsurprisingly been linked with a move away from Elland Road, with Manchester United tipped to sign him.

His current Leeds deal expires in 2024, although there has been talk of him agreeing a new contract.

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The Latest: McLeish makes worrying claim

Speaking to Football Insider, McLeish gave a seven-word verdict regarding a potential move to Old Trafford for the Leeds midfielder, saying that it would be “tough for him to turn it down”.

The former Premier League manager then added:

“Jack Grealish was a fan of Aston Villa all his life, but he had his head turned by a dominant club like Manchester City.

“It’s the same thing – if United come and go all the way with their interest, it is hard for him to stay.”

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The Verdict: Last season at Leeds?

Sadly, as McLeish has hinted, it does feel as though the £36m-rated Phillips’ time as a Leeds player could be reaching its natural conclusion, with his head potentially being turned by the prospect of a move elsewhere.

That may not be as soon as January, but a summer exit could be on the cards should a Champions League-playing club come in for him.

It would be premature to rule out the idea of Phillips simply staying put at Elland Road for many more years, but as things stand, he may believe that the peak years of his career lie elsewhere.

In other news, Phil Hay has given an important Leeds injury update. Read more here.

Noel Whelan has now urged Newcastle United not to let go of Matty Longstaff after an update on the future of the central midfield player.

The Lowdown: Longstaff can go

As cited by The Northern Echo, Steve Bruce has confirmed that Longstaff can go out on loan before the summer transfer window ends.

He has reportedly been targeted by both Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town ahead of a potential move.

The Latest: Whelan on Longstaff

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan, who is now a pundit after playing as a striker for the likes of Leeds United and Coventry City, has now urged the St. James’ Park faithful to keep hold of Longstaff before the window shuts, given the size of their current squad at the moment:

“You can’t do it, don’t allow players to leave when you have a squad the size of Newcastle’s.

“They’ve not really been active in this window, it’s a really difficult situation that Steve Bruce is in.

“You’ve got to look if Newcastle have got players coming through the ranks who can replace him, or whether they are willing to go into the market to replace him.

“They’ve not started the season well, so to lose a home-grown player is a bit of a kick in the teeth.

“But he’s another young player who needs to be playing regularly to get the best out of him, and maybe Matty has realised that.”

The Verdict: Keep for now

To be fair, the North East club have a decent amount of options in the middle of the park, including the likes of Longstaff’s brother Sean, Isaac Hayden, Jeff Hendrick, Jonjo Shelvey and new arrival Joe Willock (Transfermarkt).

However, unless they can find a replacement for him with just a few days left of the window to go, they should be looking at keeping Longstaff for now as they may need a big squad deeper into the new season.

Described as a ‘talented’ player by Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell back in June, he certainly has potential, as exemplified by scoring a memorable goal on his senior Premier League debut for the Tyneside club in a 1-0 home win over Manchester United (BBC Sport).

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Nonetheless, Longstaff is a local boy as well, and so the Toon Army will want him to do well for them.

In other news, find out which three top-flight players Bruce is eyeing here!

Leeds United duo Luke Ayling and Patrick Bamford have made ‘really encouraging’ returns from injury, according to journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Key Leeds pair return to action

The Whites have had make do without the influential pair since the middle of September, with injuries striking both of them down.

Both Ayling and Bamford made hugely pleasing returns to action on Monday evening, though, playing for Leeds’ under-23s in their 3-2 defeat to Manchester City.

The right-back came off at half-time and the striker played the full match, with both looking set to play a big part in the first team’s busy December schedule.

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The Latest: Hay in positive spirits

Taking to Twitter after Monday’s game, Hay admitted that it was “really encouraging to see” the duo back on the pitch, his tweet accompanied by an article for The Athletic which outlined ‘how Ayling can help to revive one of Leeds’ core strengths and why Bamford is inevitably missed’.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side host Crystal Palace in the Premier League tonight, and while that match will surely come too soon for the returning pair, they could hopefully feature at home to Brentford on Sunday.

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The Verdict: Major boost for Whites

Put simply, Leeds aren’t the same team without Ayling and Bamford around, with both proving to be pivotal figures in recent campaigns.

The former provides constant energy from right-back, not to mention leadership having captained the Whites in the past, while the latter’s goals have been missed hugely. He netted 17 in the top flight last season; Leeds have managed just seven in the eight matches he has missed since getting injured at Newcastle in mid-September.

Bamford also has the ability to bring the best out in others, dropping deep to link up with team-mates and creating space in behind for the wingers.

Leeds need to get their season going after a slow start, and the impending returns of Ayling and Bamford could be exactly the spark for a winter revival.

In other news, Danny Mills has been critical of one Leeds player’s impact. Find out who it is here.

Paul Stewart is puzzled as to why Liverpool are struggling to tie Jordan Henderson down to a new deal.

The England midfielder has been on the Reds’ books since joining from Sunderland in a deal worth a reported £20million a decade ago.

He has gone on to captain the Merseyside club to their first ever Premier League title and also held the Champions League, Super Cup, Club World Cup and League Cup trophies aloft during his time at Anfield.

The 31-year-old has entered the final two years of his £140,000-per-week deal and his long-term future at the club now appears to be in doubt.

Liverpool have opened discussions with a host of players this summer but contract talks with Henderson have stalled.

It has resulted in the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid monitoring the situation, with them ready to open negotiations if Henderson fails to agree terms.

Former Liverpool man Stewart feels Henderson, who is currently training with La Liga club RCD Mallorca ahead of returning for the latter stages of pre-season at Liverpool, may have failed to have penned a new deal for a number of reasons.

He exclusively told Football FanCast: “It doesn’t seem right to me and I think there’s something underlying that we don’t know, which is why he is stalling on a contract.

“That could be for a few reasons. They may have offered him less money because of his age. He might want to go to China, where he could triple his wages. He might not be first choice in midfield, but only time will tell why he’s stalling on his contract.”

Newcastle United may not be able to permanently offload Yoshinori Muto to his Greek Super League suitor Aris Thessaloniki, according to The Athletic’s Chris Waugh. 

The lowdown

Greek outlet Sportime reported on Sunday that Aris, who finished third last season, were in ‘advanced contacts’ with the player.

Newcastle paid £9.5million to sign Muto from Bundesliga outfit Mainz in 2018, committing him to a four-year contract.

He’s now into the final 12 months of the deal, having scored only five goals since for Newcastle and SD Eibar, where he spent 2020/21 on loan (via Transfermarkt).

Newcastle have trimmed four players from their squad so far this summer. Andy Carroll and Henri Saivet were released, Cristian Atsu sealed a move to Al-Raed and Florian Lejune joined Alaves for an undisclosed fee.

The latest

Waugh reports that ‘NUFC are hopeful’ of arranging the forward’s exit this summer after Aris expressed ‘concrete interest’.

Newcastle ‘ideally’ want to sell Muto, but Aris’ preference is a loan move, which would see his wages split.

They’re willing to cover around 40% of his roughly £50,000-per-week salary, leaving the Magpies to make up the rest themselves. There’s ‘optimism’ on their side that a deal can be reached.

Muto returned to training on Monday, but that doesn’t herald a change of heart from the club. He has ‘no future’ at St James’ Park.

The verdict

It would be somewhat frustrating if Newcastle had to agree to a compromise here. While selling Muto probably wouldn’t have generated a big transfer fee given his contract situation and lean goal return, it would at least have cleared his substantial wages off the books.

Interest in Muto may not be plentiful, and so the Magpies may have to accept Aris’ proposal. If they were hoping to raise funds for incomings through sales, it seems they’re yet to make significant inroads.

In other news, could this midfielder arrive in addition to Willock?

Federico Fernandez’s Newcastle United future remains uncertain, but Chris Waugh has confirmed that the defender is ‘someone they want to keep’.

The latest

The 32-year-old’s name featured on Newcastle’s retained list with the word ‘offer’ beside his name, with his current deal is due to expire at the end of the month.

Fernandez made 24 Premier League appearances for Steve Bruce’s side last season and Newcastle appear to be moving to bolster their centre-back ranks in the transfer market, with a £6m deal for Kristoffer Ajer in the works.

It has also been reported that a loan move for Arsenal’s William Saliba, a player they have monitored for 18 months, could be on the cards.

The lowdown

Waugh, the club’s correspondent for The Athletic, said Newcastle are working to keep Fernandez, who joined from Swansea City in 2018, at St James’ Park.

However, he added that the future of striker Andy Carroll, who is also out of contract, is ‘less certain’. Newcastle have until 23 June to finalise their released lists ahead of the new season.

The verdict

It may be a slight surprise to see Newcastle endeavour to keep him when more youthful additions at centre-back are seemingly being lined up.

Perhaps the club are trying to guard against the kind of injury crisis they suffered in February, when Fernandez, Ciaran Clark and Jamaal Lascelles were all missing, and Isaac Hayden had to fill in at centre-half for the game against Southampton.

On top of that, Fernandez is an experienced and dependable performer with 192 Premier League appearances to his name, so Steve Bruce will likely view him as an important asset to the squad.

In other news, Mark Douglas has offered the latest on the future of two youngsters.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has dropped a behind-the-scenes claim at Aston Villa about what Johan Lange is pushing for from Dean Smith.

What’s the story?

The Midlands club enjoyed a busy summer transfer window which saw numerous players come in and Jack Grealish head to Manchester City, but one man who has kind of been lost in the shuffle over the past few months is Morgan Sanson.

Writing for The Athletic, Evans revealed: “It’s understood that sporting director Johan Lange was very keen for Sanson, who made his first appearance in 149 days for the under-21s last night, to be given a chance to show what he is made of, too. It was Lange who pushed hard for that particular move, with CEO Christian Purslow agreeing that a £14 million deal last January represented good value for money.”

He added: “Whether a perceived fragility comes back to bite Villa in their quest for the top half remains to be seen. Can Luiz pull it all together to become the defensive midfielder Villa are missing? Will Nakamba find some consistency? Or does Sanson fill the gap? The weeks and months ahead should provide some answers.”

Villa fans may be fuming

In what was a rather frustrating first half-season in English football for Sanson, the Frenchman made just nine appearances in the Premier League totaling 291 minutes worth of football.

Following his disappointing displays, former Premier League goalkeeper Paddy Kenny said: “I don’t see why they wouldn’t sell him if he’s not producing. It’s only six months and sometimes you’ve got to give players a little bit more time. Not everyone settles well in this country.

“But if they are interested in a couple more midfielders then that could be a sign. There’s no shame in cutting your losses and moving on. People make mistakes. You’re never going to get every signing spot-on.”

Such has been the disappointment surrounding him that reports emerged even in late March that Villa chiefs felt they had made a big mistake in bringing Sanson to the club, and that “he is said to be very difficult to manage, and proved to be so much trouble for two of his former agents they decided to let him go.”

The report added that “there is a feeling in the corridors of power the club ‘haven’t done their homework’ over the 26-year-old Frenchman.”

Given that Villa were after the likes of James Ward-Prowse over the summer transfer window, it was clear that Smith was looking to bring in a new central midfielder. The fact that they haven’t done so, and may need to turn towards a player who both the coaching and recruitment staff seemingly feel isn’t up to scratch, is sure to leave fans fuming.

Lange pushing for Sanson to be given a chance is understandable given that he has only been here for a few months, but should that have been at the expense of potentially pushing the boat out for landing one of their big targets like Ward-Prowse?

Villa fans may be livid over this latest update from Evans.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has confirmed a major boost…

A reliable journalist has dropped a fresh claim as Tottenham Hotspur continue to search for their next manager this week…

What’s the word?

According to football.london’s Alasdair Gold, current Belgium boss Roberto Martinez is not thought to be in the running for the vacant Spurs job despite emerging reports.

Writing to supporters on Twitter, he revealed:

“As plenty of people are asking about Roberto Martinez, as I’ve said before he is someone Spurs like but he’s not believed to be a contender right now for the current vacant managerial post.”

Sky Sports (via The Sun) had claimed that the 47-year-old was in talks with the North London outfit over potentially taking charge after this summer’s European Championships, whilst the former Everton and Wigan man has been linked previously as one of four likely appointments, as per The Athletic.

Great news

This exciting development should come as fantastic news for much of the Lilywhites faithful as Martinez is just not the man for Spurs.

In recent weeks, the fans have been seen protesting against chairman Daniel Levy and their ownership group ENIC following failed proposals to form a breakaway European Super League but truth be told, that was merely the catalyst to make their point heard as they are also disappointed with years of underachievement and failure.

Indeed, Spurs lost yet another final this season, being defeated by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup at Wembley. It means their 13-year wait for silverware rumbles on.

It also means that Levy must get his next appointment spot on, not just to appease the fanbase but to get Spurs back on the right track, and Martinez would only deal them another blow.

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He may be in charge of the world’s best-ranked national side right now but he’s rarely with them, meeting up just a few times a year, so he cannot take much credit for the individual development of those players in recent times, whilst Belgium still haven’t been able to harness all that talent into winning a tournament.

The former Toffees disaster also has an appalling record in the Premier League, where he has won just 30.5% of matches across seven seasons. By comparison, Jose Mourinho was sacked in mid-April with a win rate of 52%.

Everton certainly seemed to regress under the Spaniard, with Jonathan Wilson claiming in Eurosport that it was down to “systemic” problems that he couldn’t fix.

Furthermore, in The Athletic’s report on Martinez, they claim that whilst he would be the ‘safer bet’ from the four options, he is one that is ‘not a universally popular candidate with the fans,’ so this news should certainly come as a major source of encouragement.

In response to Gold’s claims, you get the feeling that this is certainly the case, too.

One member of the Spurs faithful joked that he would call his firstborn ‘Alasdair’ whilst another described it as “beautiful,” with a further supporter deeming the reporter “the people’s champion.”

As evident above, many in North London will surely be absolutely buzzing by this latest update and they should be excited if Spurs’ list boils down to the other candidates, on which Ajax’s Erik Ten Hag and Brighton’s Graham Potter likely feature.

AND in other news, Levy can boost his chances of keeping Harry Kane by hiring 49 y/o who’s the “ideal candidate”…

According to Football Insider, Liverpool have been informed by Borussia Dortmund that Jude Bellingham is not for sale this summer. 

The lowdown: Interest building

Since making the switch to Germany, Bellingham has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence and is now a regular for the Bundesliga side and England despite his tender years.

The Reds have been extensively linked with the 18-year-old midfielder for some time now and a big-money swoop had appeared to be on the horizon.

However, an immediate move may well have been taken off the cards if this latest update is anything to go by.

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The latest: FI drop a major update

As per an FI recruitment source, Dortmund have informed both Liverpool and Manchester United that the teenage sensation ‘will not be sold’ this summer.

The report claims that the Anfield club and arch-rivals United have made contact about signing the 12-cap England starlet.

But, as Jurgen Klopp’s former employers prepare themselves for the departure of Erling Haaland, there is said to be ‘no intention’ of allowing the midfielder once hailed as ‘phenomenal’ by Gareth Southgate to follow suit.

The verdict: Worth the wait

The prospect of no summer move being forthcoming for Bellingham is undoubtedly a disappointing one for Liverpool as Klopp and incoming sporting director Julian Ward are likely to attempt to strengthen the midfield department.

With current incumbents, James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Thiago all over 30 and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stuck on the periphery of matters, signing a truly supreme star of the future such as the ex-Birmingham academy prospect – who can operate in various roles – would’ve been the ideal option to bolster the Anfield ranks.

Now the recruitment team and indeed FSG face the dilemma of whether to move on to different targets or wait for the Englishman.

Statistics on this don’t lie and Bellingham has scored six times and registered 11 assists in 40 appearances this season – we feel he would be worth the wait.

In other news, one Liverpool player has been backed to leave this summer. Find out who it is here.