Newcastle United missed out on signing Kalvin Phillips this month, with Toon fans praying that the club did not make a major mistake.
The 28-year-old was heavily linked with moving to St James’ Park. There was confidence from the club that a deal would be done, while it was even claimed that Kalvin Phillips was interested in signing for Newcastle.
The England international has now got the move that he needed, but he will be wearing claret and blue for the rest of the season rather than black and white. West Ham won the race to sign Phillips on loan, while Newcastle look set to continue with the midfielders that they have got.
The Magpies will hope that they are proven right in not signing Phillips, and now a new report from iNews has detailed the key reasons why Newcastle opted against signing the former Leeds United star.
Why Newcastle opted against signing Kalvin Phillips
According to iNews, Newcastle actually could afford the £6million loan fee that Man City were looking for. However, they did not think it was worth it considering how much it would impact their position regarding profit and sustainability rules.
iNews add that Newcastle’s decision was also influenced by the emergence of Lewis Miley, as well as the hopefully imminent returns of Joe Willock and Elliot Anderson. They will boost Newcastle’s numbers in midfield, meaning Howe might not be so short of options in the near future.
So money was not the issue. Well, it kind of was… They had the money to spend on Phillips, they just did not want to.
That is understandable, and should prove to be a sensible decision in the long run. He would have been a short-term fix, but it could have had long-term implications. And these owners are always looking at the bigger picture, which is why Newcastle United is being set up for sustained success.
Phillips may have been a good addition to this Newcastle squad, but it was considered an unnecessary gamble.
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