Man City want PROFIT on Phillips as Newcastle eye Tonali replacement

Stuart Telford

• 29 Oct 2023 04:16 CDT
• 3 min read

Manchester City reportedly want to make a profit on Kalvin Phillips should Newcastle sign him to replace the suspended Sandro Tonali.

Phillips joined City from Leeds for an initial £42 million the summer before last, but only two of his 15 Premier League appearances since have been starts.

Rodri has the position of defensive midfielder under lock and key, and he has variously been joined centre-backs John Stones and Manuel Akanji as part of a double pivot in midfield this season.

READ: Man City lining up Musiala as De Bruyne replacement

Newcastle have a gap in midfield, meanwhile, after Sandro Tonali, their €64m (£55.8m) summer arrival from AC Milan, was handed a 10-month ban for gambling offences.

A January move would appear to suit all parties, but City are digging their heels in about Phillips' asking price.

Phillips' £50m asking price

"The Premier League champions are aware that there's a host of clubs interested in signing the former Leeds favourite when the transfer window opens in January and have set an asking price of £50 million," reports the Mirror's Simon Mullock.

"That's a healthy £8 million mark-up on the £42 million City paid the Yorkshire club in the summer of 2022."

READ: Newcastle target CONTROVERSIAL €47m Tonali replacement

Phillips wants regular first-team football ahead of the European Championships in Germany next summer, although other cards could be falling into place for the 27-year-old.

Gareth Southgate likes playing with two holding midfielders, and while new Arsenal man Declan Rice is sure to be another one, Jude Bellingham has blossomed since being shifted forward into the No.10 position at Real Madrid, his brace against Barcelona on Saturday giving him 13 goals in as many games.

Phillips is valued at €21.4m (£18.7m) by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, so City would do extremely well to get more than twice that figure for a player who has become a bench warmer.