Aston Villa have just smashed their transfer record – and what they’ve done could actually now be significant for Manchester City.
Unai Emery’s side have just landed midfielder Amadou Onana for a £50 million fee.
Onana had been at Everton for two years, and the Toffees have netted a decent profit on the player having signed him for around £33 million.
Belgium international Onana will seemingly be the replacement for Douglas Luiz. The former Manchester City youngster left Villa earlier this summer to join Juventus.
The Onana deal has raised some eyebrows on social media, mainly due to the transfer fee.
It is interesting that he’s gone and presumably Everton will now be stepped up the hunt for a replacement – and that is where City could come in.
Everton could now make play for Kalvin Phillips after selling Amadou Onana
In recent days, it has been reported that Everton are interested in potentially moving for Kalvin Phillips, who is back with City after his loan spell at West Ham United in 2023/24.
Phillips is in the US with Pep Guardiola and the rest of the squad, but it is felt that he will be leaving before the new season.
Pep has been very reluctant to use him during his two years at the club, and there have been no suggestions so far that the manager has changed his position on the player.
It could be that Everton will now step up their pursuit of Phillips following the sale of defensive midfielder Onana to Villa.
The need is clear, and the Toffees may well see Phillips as someone who could come in.
It has already been suggested that Sean Dyche is a big admirer of the player, and that he feels he can get Phillips back to his best.
Phillips must get move to kickstart his career again
We will see what happens regarding Everton’s interest in Phillips, but the Onana sale certainly increases their need for a new holding midfielder.
It’s just whether they’d be able to reach an agreement with City, who are said to want an obligation to buy clause inserting in any loan move for Phillips.
Hopefully, it is a move that does come to fruition, and Phillips goes and gets himself back on track.
It has been a tough couple of years for him and the move to City really hasn’t worked out. The spell at West Ham was far from ideal, but Micah Richards said earlier this year that he felt Phillips was ‘still a quality player’, and fans will hope his next move works out for him.
