Kalvin Phillips has insisted that he wants to stay at boyhood club Leeds United and is not concerned about transfer speculation linking him with a move away.
The 26-year-old has missed much of the season through injury and Leeds have struggled in his absence, with the club being pulled back into a relegation dogfight.
90min reported earlier this week that this uncertain status in the top flight has seen the Whites shelve contract talks with Phillips and Brazilian teammate Raphinha for the time being, but the England international has insisted he is happy at Elland Road.
“Definitely, I’ve made what I want to do clear,” Phillips said to BBC Radio Leeds. “I’ve a made my intentions clear that I want to be at Leeds.
“I’ll focus on that until my contract ends.”
He added: “[Transfer speculation] is always been something I’ve not worried about too much. It’s always been something I’ve been confident in sorting whenever it needed sorting.
“There’s always going to be noise when you are an England international and playing for one of the biggest teams in the country. I think until the end of the season I’ll be happy at Leeds and always will be.”
Listen now to 90min’s brand new podcast, Talking Transfers, with Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth. This week they discuss mounting interest in Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. There’s also updates on the contract situations of Sadio Mane, Reece James, Pep Guardiola & Kylian Mbappe, Marcus Rashford’s next moves and Manchester United’s interest in Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
Phillips is under contract for two more years at Leeds but the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle and Aston Villa are all interested in his services.
For the time being, Phillips and Leeds’ attentions return to the Premier League with the club two points above the relegation zone but having played a game more than 18th-placed Everton.
Leeds travel to Arsenal on Sunday before taking on Chelsea and Brighton at Elland Road, while they face a tough trip to Brentford on the final day of the season.