The former Leeds United promotion-winning hero is still working to get his career back on track.
Kalvin Phillips, a former Leeds United player, might accompany another recent Elland Road leave in midfield this season, with Ipswich Town reportedly interested in Glen Kamara.
Phillips has failed to regain the form he showed under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds, so he signed a season-long loan deal with Premier League newcomers Ipswich. Fitness difficulties have hampered the midfielder, but his eight top-flight outings have shown flashes of confidence.
The 29-year-old hopes to make a bigger impact in 2025, and he could be joined by another former Leeds midfielder as Ipswich fights to stay in the Premier League. There have been several recent reports of interest in Kamara, and TBR Football has listed Portman Road as a potential destination for the Finland international.
Ipswich and Southampton are ‘eager’ on Kamara
According to the report, both Ipswich and Southampton are considering signing Kamara in January, less than five months after leaving Leeds for Stade Rennais for £8.4 million. The Premier League duo are joined by three Championship promotion hopefuls, with Middlesbrough, Sunderland, and Burnley also rumored to be interested in a midseason move.
Kamara had a good start in France, starting regularly and impressing the manager who bought him, Julien Stéphan. However, the 29-year-old has fallen out of favour since Stéphan’s November departure, with new manager Jorge Sampaoli seeking elsewhere for midfield options.
Rennes has also recently sealed the signing of midfielder Seko Fofana for €20 million (£16.6 million), pushing Kamara further down the pecking order. So a return to England is possible for Leeds’ former player, and a transfer to Portman Road might see him partner Phillips in the middle of the field.
Phillips’ Leeds return position
Phillips is still working to get his career back on track after leaving Leeds for Manchester City in the summer of 2022. The feisty midfielder attracted Pep Guardiola‘s notice after an impressive initial Premier League season, and after saving his boyhood club from relegation the following season, he moved to the Etihad in a £43 million transfer.
That move never paid off, and Phillips’ career has plummeted subsequently, with a six-month loan spell at West Ham United doing little to help his reputation. Going into last summer, there was conjecture that Leeds would be open to a reunion if promotion was achieved, but Elland Road recruitment directors were well aware of the financial challenges in sanctioning such a move.
As it turned out, the play-off final defeat to Southampton made a move for Phillips all but impossible. Promotion would only have fueled talk of a return, but the midfielder recently confessed his Elland Road return was not a foregone conclusion.
“I went to that game [play-off final] and was devastated they didn’t go up,” Phillips told the East Anglian Daily Times in November. “Obviously, I wanted Leeds to be promoted. It’s a club that I care deeply about. Even if Leeds had been promoted and Ipswich had advanced to the play-offs, it would have been a difficult decision as to where I would have gone because I adore the Ipswich tale.”
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