Crystal Palace boss drops Kalvin Phillips transfer admission amid Newcastle United speculation

Roy Hodgson has admitted that he would like to see Kalvin Phillips move to Selhurst Park this month amid reports that Crystal Palace are now the favourites to sign the midfielder. Newcastle United had been heavily-linked with a move for the midfielder, but City’s demands of a £7m loan fee and their desire to insert an obligation to buy clause into a deal means that interest from Tyneside has reportedly cooled in recent times.

This could open the door for Crystal Palace to swoop for the 28-year-old with the Eagles now viewed as frontrunners to sign Phillips this month. Hodgson, who is in the middle of his second stint as Palace manager, was asked about reports linking them with a move for Phillips and the 76-year-old revealed his interest in doing a deal, but warned that it would only be a temporary move.

“He’s a good player,” Hodgson told Sky Sports. “I would like to think that if Kalvin Phillips is available and a possibility for the club – once again, there will be financial restrictions, who knows whether the club feels they will be able to afford that – if you’re talking about the level of player, I don’t feel there will be many managers who would not say: ‘Yeah, we will be really happy to have him come to the club.’

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a name that’s out there. All we know, like most other clubs, is that there is a possibility that Man City will either sell him or loan him. 

“If they are purely going to sell him, then I don’t think we will be in the market. If they’re going to loan him, I would like to think that we could possibly put our hand up and push ourselves forward. What we could then of course offer is the chance to play regular football in the Premiership in the build-up to what will be a very important summer for England and for him. We might not be the only club in that position, so at the end of the day, a lot will have to happen before we find out where Kalvin Phillips is going to end up if he’s going to go anywhere.”