Sheffield United are reportedly closing in on the loan return of Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
Pete O'Rourke of Footy Insider took to X to break the news that "Sheffield United are in advanced talks to bring Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips back to the club on loan after he spent the second half of last season at the club".
The Blades are "confident of the move with the player happy to rejoin" the club prior to the start of the 2026/27 Championship season.
As Phillips watches Thomas Tuchel's England at the 2026 World Cup, there's bound to be a part of him that thinks: "What could have been".
The Leeds United academy graduate left the club to join Man City for a reported £45m in the summer of 2022, and -- from the get-go -- there was an overarching sense that overtaking Rodri in the midfield rankings was going to be an uphill task.
Playing just 291 minutes in his debut Premier League campaign for the Citizens and 89 minutes in the first half of his second term, he was sent on loan to West Ham for the remainder of the 2023/24 season.
Granted, he got more playing time, but the lack of first team action at Man City had undoubtedly taken its toll on the midfielder.
An underwhelming loan spell in East London was followed by an unimpressive stint with Ipswich Town, making 19 top-flight appearances for the Tractor Boys before they were relegated to the Championship.
Mirroring his previous loan spells, Phillips once again struggled at Bramall Lane. He played just three times for the Blades in the second half of the 2025/26 campaign, and a red card against rivals Sheffield Wednesday was followed by a knee injury that ruled him out for the rest of the term.
Irrespective of Phillips' more recent setbacks, the 30-year-old was once regarded as the nation's best defensive midfielder and Chris Wilder is seemingly keen to take a chance on him ahead of the 2026/27 season.
