Leeds United failed to get what they wanted out of deadline day, as they missed out on Harry Wilson, but it was a largely successful transfer window for the newly-promoted side.
As much as some supporters may not want to hear it right now, the recruitment team and board did well to bolster the defensive and midfield options for Daniel Farke.
Lucas Perri, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw, and James Justin arrived to improve the defence, whilst Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach were signed to add to the team’s midfield.
Supporters have already seen why the club were willing to spend around £17m to bring Stach to the club, after an impressive start to life in the Premier League for the Whites.
The towering German midfielder was excellent, as illustrated by the statistics in the post above, on his debut in a 1-0 win over Everton last month.
Stach and Longstaff coming through the gate at Thorp Arch meant that bringing back former star Kalvin Phillips was not high on the agenda at Elland Road.
Why Leeds were right not to sign Kalvin Phillips
Instead of immediately targeting a deal to bring the ex-England international back to the club upon promotion, Leeds decided to swoop for the aforementioned alternative targets to improve Farke’s side.
In the final few days of the window, journalist Graeme Bailey did note that the Championship champions were keeping tabs on Phillips and that he could have ended up in West Yorkshire again if Manchester City had ripped his contract up to make him a free agent.
The Cityzens did not do that, though, and the central midfielder remained at The Etihad, despite not being a part of Pep Guardiola’s plans, after the deadline passed.
Phillips earned a £42m move to Manchester City in the summer of 2022 after impressing, as shown in the clips above, in the Premier League with Leeds under Marcelo Bielsa.
Unfortunately, the midfield star only started two of his 12 Premier League appearances for City in his first season in Manchester, per Sofascore, before struggling out on loan at Ipswich and West Ham in the two subsequent campaigns.
Appearances
12
19
Starts
3
14
Goals
0
0
Assists
0
0
Duel success rate
48%
43%
Error led to shot or goal
1
2
Penalties committed
1
0
Red cards
1
1
As you can see in the table above, Phillips has been sent off twice and made four errors that have led to shots, goals, or penalties for the opposition in his last 17 starts in the top-flight.
His market value has dropped off a cliff as a result of that poor form in recent seasons since leaving Leeds. Transfermarkt currently value the midfielder at just £10m, well short of the £42m fee that Manchester City agreed to sign him for in 2022.
Leeds were, therefore, right not to heavily pursue a reunion with the 29-year-old dud, because he is not the same player that he once was at Elland Road.
Despite once being sold for £42m, there are now numerous players within the current squad who are worth even more than Phillips, including central defender Pascal Struijk.
Leeds hit the jackpot with Pascal Struijk
The Whites swooped to sign the Dutch defender from Ajax on a free transfer in January 2018, as his contract with the Eredivisie giants was due to expire later that year, and initially linked up with the U21s.
Market Movers
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He only played seven times for the academy, though, before being fast-tracked into the first-team by Bielsa in the 2019/20 season, playing five times in the Championship. That led to him being valued at £650k in 2020, per Transfermarkt
Struijk then established himself as a regular in the Premier League for Leeds, playing 85 times across three seasons under Bielsa, Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia, and Sam Allardyce, before the team’s relegation in 2023.
The Dutch defender really hit his stride in the last two seasons in the Championship for the Whites. Although he did miss the second half of the 2023/24 campaign through injury, and was unable to help his side in the play-off final against Southampton.
Struijk had arguably his best season at Elland Road in the 2024/25 title-winning season, though, as he played in 35 of the club’s 46 league matches on their way to 100 points.
Shot-creating actions
1.34
Top 16%
Passes attempted
85.57
Top 1%
Pass accuracy
90.1%
Top 4%
Progressive passes
6.15
Top 1%
Progressive carries
1.18
Top 8%
Passes into the final third
6.92
Top 1%
As you can see in the table above, the left-footed star was sensational in possession for Farke’s team with his ability to progress play with the ball at his feet at an exceptional rate.
Promotion to the Premier League, though, places a greater emphasis on his defensive skills. He has stood up to the task so far, winning 75% of his ground duels to help Leeds to keep two clean sheets in their first three matches, per Sofascore.
His performances last season in the Championship heavily contributed to his market value soaring up to a whopping £15.6m, per Transfermarkt, which is millions more than Phillips is currently valued at.
This also means that his market value has skyrocketed by a staggering 2,400% from the £650k that he was valued at back in 2020, which highlights his impressive rise to prominence in West Yorkshire.
Therefore, Leeds hit the jackpot when they moved to sign Struijk from Ajax back in 2018 because the Dutch titan has developed into a key first-team player for Farke who is now worth even more than a star who was once sold by the club for £42m.