Everton on alert? Kalvin Phillips makes Man City’s demands in light of the Toffees’ transfer interest

Everton are doing their best to strengthen their squad in this transfer window, but at the same time are trying not to cash in on their top talents for financial reasons.

The Toffees have signed Iliman Ndiaye, Tim Iroegbunam and Jesper Lindstrom but are in the black so far in terms of their overall balance for this transfer window. The big-money sale of Amadou Onana to Aston Villa, as well as the departures of Ben Godfrey and Lewis Dobbin, have put them in a healthy position so far.

Sean Dyche could soon have reinforcements in defence in the form of Lyon’s Jake O’Brien, who could act either as a centre-back partner or as a replacement for Manchester United’s preferred candidate Jarrad Branthwaite. Whether the latter stays or not, the squad composition looks stronger than it was at the end of the 2023/24 season.

The question now is whether they could strengthen their midfield by signing Kalvin Phillips.

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Could Everton sign Kalvin Phillips?

According to Football Insider, Phillips has told Manchester City that he does not want another loan move away from the Etihad Stadium after a difficult experience during a short-term stay at West Ham last season.

The same publication says City is willing to accept offers of £20 million ($25.7 million) to get rid of the England international, with Everton and Aston Villa also interested in the player.

10.2 – Kalvin Phillips won the ball back an average of 10.2 times per 90 minutes for his team in the Premier League last season, the highest average of any player with over 900 minutes played. Safety. pic.twitter.com/j7V9IaFnu8

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 4, 2022

However, it is claimed that Everton and Villa would prefer a loan to a permanent transfer, meaning any deal is likely to be complicated.

With Onana now at Villa, Phillips would likely be more of a first-team regular at Goodison Park, but the prospect of Champions League football could be tempting.

Given the likely low transfer fee for a player City signed just two years ago for an initial £42 million ($54.2 million), it seems like a deal worth considering for Dyche.