Blades Announce Loan Signing of Manchester City Midfielder | OneFootball

Sheffield United have made a dramatic late move in the winter transfer window, completing the loan signing of Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City until the end of the season.

The 30-year-old midfielder, a European Championship finalist with England and capped 31 times by the Three Lions, arrives at Bramall Lane looking to reignite with former Leeds United teammate Patrick Bamford, as well as his career with regular first-team football.

Phillips, who rose to prominence with Leeds United before his move to City, adds instant pedigree, leadership and top-level experience to Chris Wilder’s midfield options for the run-in.

Speaking earlier on Monday afternoon in his pre-match press conference, Wilder played down the growing speculation surrounding Phillips, as names continued to swirl in the final hours of the window.

“There’s going to be names in the next two or three hours that are linked and flying about all over the place,” Wilder said.

“I just got a call from someone and ‘is this true?’ There’s interest in players right the way through. We’re interested in good players and I want the group to be strong when the window shuts in 5 hours and we’ve got a slice of pizza in our hand which normally happens.”

Behind the scenes, however, United were working quickly, and decisively, to land a statement signing.

Selection Dilemma For Sheffield United

Phillips becomes United’s third loan arrival of the January window, following the additions of Ki-Jana Hoever and Leo Hjelde, both brought in to strengthen competition at full-back. The Blades have clearly prioritised depth and versatility during the window, with Phillips now providing a major boost in the centre of the pitch.

The dilemma Wilder now has is the fact that United can only have five loan players selected in a matchday squad. The current loan players are: Ki-Jana Hoever, Tyler Bindon, Leo Hjelde, Djibril Soumare, Kalvin Phillips and Chiedozie Ogbene.

United were also hopeful of concluding a deal for Joe Rothwell, who had been widely reported as being set to sign an 18-month contract at Bramall Lane, though that move was still being finalised as the window edged towards its conclusion.