Sheffield United sign Kalvin Phllips and one Blades player may not be happy | OneFootball

Kalvin Phillips has signed for Sheffield United, which may impact Tom Davies' gametime as he returns from injury

The Yorkshire Pirlo is back in Yorkshire for the first time since leaving Leeds United and crossing the Pennines in 2022, after Kalvin Phillips made a deadline-day loan move to Sheffield United.

The 30-year-old has had a rough time in the last three and a half years, with injuries and being generally unfavoured by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, leading to various uneventful loan spells in the Premier League over the last couple of seasons.

Now, he's back in the Championship for the first time since securing promotion with the Whites in 2020, where he impressed under Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa and was formed into the man who was England's Player of the Year during their Euro 2021 campaign, and earned the £42 million move to City the year after.

There was always a desire for the Blades to add to their central midfield pack over the course of the January transfer window, after injuries and suspensions meant that Chris Wilder could never truly settle on a first-choice pairing.

However, there was no doubt about the quality already in-house in that position, and there'd have been expectations that, once everyone was fully available again, Sheffield United could start dominating the midfield battles.

Ultimately, two new men have arrived, with fellow former Leeds man Joe Rothwell also adding to Chris Wilder's ranks, and someone will be pushed further down the pecking order as a result. That man may be Tom Davies.

Tom Davies may be negatively affected by Kalvin Phillips, Joe Rothwell moves

Davies has epitomised the inconsistencies in the midfield due to injuries ever since he made the move to Bramall Lane from Everton in 2023.

Various hamstring and calf issues saw him feature in just 29 of his opening 113 league games for the Blades in the last two-and-a-half years.

However, his most recent calf issue had been cleared towards the end of 2025, and after being eased back into action, Davies started back-to-back league games for the first time since last January to end the first month of 2026.

Davies' quality has always been there to see, which has made his persistent injury issues even more frustrating for Chris Wilder and co, as they'd clearly have wanted him to feature more prominently in the side, especially since the drop to the Championship.

Now, there's a glimmer of hope that he may be able to be a consistent starter at Bramall Lane, but evidently, his availability, or lack thereof, has become a liability, and Sheffield United have opted to bolster their middle pack despite his recent return.

While the 27-year-old is a solid operator at this level, there's the expectation that if Phillips can get back to his best, the former England international will easily slot into the middle pivot. And Joe Rothwell's exceptional chance creation for Leeds last season from a deep midfield role last season will likely put him ahead of Davies in the pecking order too.

Sheffield United's midfield is stacked — Tom Davies may struggle to fit in

Phillips and Rothwell evidently make Sheffield United's midfield options better, and not many at Bramall Lane would complain if those two, at their best, made up the middle pivot for the remainder of the campaign.

But that's not even making room for the likes of Jairo Riedewald Sydie Peck and Oli Arblaster, who are among some of the best holding midfielders in the division when fit.

And Djibril Soumare was getting solid minutes too, before his suspension following the red card against Charlton Athletic, for which he's now served and is available to be selected once again.

Davies has now, all of a sudden, become Sheffield United's sixth or seventh choice holding midfielder when everyone is fit and firing ahead of the second half of the campaign. From a neutral point, and for most Blades fans, having all of those options is exciting, but it's a situation that the former Everton man may dread.

The 27-year-old may have felt that this time, injuries could evade him, and he could stamp his claim down for some regular minutes when the likes of Riedewald and Soumare return.