Man City were initially willing to sell £42m player who Eddie Howe wants at Newcastle

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Newcastle United have tried and failed to sign Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City this summer, and it is now easy to see why the Magpies were unhappy about missing out.

Before Eddie Howe added Sandro Tonali to his squad, there was talk of Newcastle making a move for Phillips on the back of a tough first season at the Etihad Stadium.

He joined Man City from Leeds United for £42million last summer, but struggled to have a real impact during a remarkable treble-winning season for Pep Guardiola’s side.

This led to hope that he could be whisked away from the North West, with Newcastle making a move to bring him to St James’ Park.

However, the move was met with disappointment, with Toon officials being told that Phillips wants to stay at Man City and fight for his place. That frustrated Newcastle, and perhaps now we know why.

Man City were willing to sell Kalvin Phillips

According to the Athletic, Man City were actually open to Phillips leaving the club earlier this summer. However, they add that the 27-year-old is ‘dead against’ changing clubs and wants to prove himself in a City shirt.

Maybe Toon officials were of the belief that a deal was possible, but that ended pretty quickly when it became clear that Phillips did not want another transfer.

He has been very open in the media about his future with Man City, boasting the belief that year two will be much better than year one. For his sake, hopefully that proves to be the case. He is a very talented footballer, and someone who would have been very welcome at St James’ Park.

But Newcastle missed out, and will instead be playing against Phillips this season. They could meet very soon, with the Magpies taking on the champions in the second week of the new Premier League campaign.