Thanks to Daniel Farke and his team, Leeds United are back on something approaching an even keel after the shenanigans of the summer transfer window.
The all whites are within touching distance of the top three and if they can continue with their good form and supplement their squad in January, there’s every chance that an immediate promotion back to the Premier League will be an achievable aim.
Any players that are acquired in the New Year would clearly have to be better than those already in situ, which narrows down Farke’s options significantly.
One player that journalist Luke Edwards believes would be “ideal” for the club is certainly an upgrade, and given that he’s played for the club in the past, a reunion could tug at the heart strings.
“Everton definitely would be (interested in Kalvin Phillips) but would he want to go to Everton? I think if he had his ideal move he’d go back to Leeds,” Edwards said on the BBC Football Gossip Daily Podcast.
“He’s a massive Leeds United supporter, he left on good terms, and when he left he stayed in touch with people there.”
Whether Leeds would be able to afford a player that they sold for £42m to Man City per The Athletic (subscription required) is unknown, though new owners 49ers Enterprises might well see the value in such a swoop if Phillips himself gives a hint that he’d be open to the move.
It would certainly give the player a challenge for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign rather than him being sat on City’s bench, though a drop down into the Championship might be a step too far.