Fabrizio Romano hands Newcastle a boost in their bid to sign ‘phenomenal’ 28-year-old player this month

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Newcastle United suddenly have less competition in the race to sign Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City this month.

The 28-year-old midfielder is one of Newcastle’s top targets, and it has been claimed that he is very interested in a move to St James’ Park during the January transfer window.

However, a deal is yet to come to fruition, with concerns surrounding how much even a loan deal for the England international might cost.

Whether Newcastle can afford him or not, it feels inevitable that Kalvin Phillips is going to leave Manchester City. Pep Guardiola has apologised for not being able to give him enough minutes, and it is vital that he gets regular football ahead of Euro 2024 this summer.

Eddie Howe is not the only manager who is interested in signing Phillips this month, but a new report from Fabrizio Romano states that one of Newcastle’s competitors has now pulled out of the race.

Juventus no longer want Kalvin Phillips

According to Fabrizio Romano, Juventus are no longer interested in signing Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City this month.

He had previously stated that the two parties had held talks, but they no longer appear to be taking place.

He wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): “Juventus have no intention to proceed for Kalvin Phillips deal at current conditions after talks with Man City on loan fee/salary coverage. Newcastle remain interested in Kalvin Phillips, race open to more clubs. Juventus priority is now Tiago Djaló as new centre back.”

Less competition for Newcastle

With Juventus now out of the race, Newcastle have less competition in the race to sign Phillips, who was previously called ‘phenomenal’ by Kieran Trippier.

That is certainly a boost, as it gives Manchester City less negotiating power in terms of commanding a higher fee.

With more clubs vying for his signature, they would be in a position to try and get as much money out of the deal as possible. But with a major player like Juventus out of the race, that position has just became weaker.

Man City appear to be very willing to do right by Phillips and let him go, so it might be a case that Newcastle just need to be patient and bide their time. Any deal might have to wait until the latter part of the month, which is not what fans who want an imminent transfer will like to hear.