Patrick Bamford says Leeds United players were 'almost pushing' Kalvin Phillips to join Man City
- Sean Fisher
- 21 July 2022
Leeds United will look to cement their Premier League status next season, but will have to do it without the recently-departed Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha.
Leeds United have undergone as many changes as any club in Europe this summer, with the Yorkshire outfit bringing in £95million worth of talent this summer.
Among the incomings is American duo Brendan Aaronson and Tyler Adams, who will look to fill the void in midfield left by Kalvin Phillips.
After rising through the club's youth system, Phillips has become a key part of the England setup and recently made a £45million move to Manchester City.
As one of Leeds' key players last season, he's bound to be a big miss for Jesse Marsch's side, but former teammate Patrick Bamford holds no grudge over his decision.
"Look at Kalvin, the way he came on in the last four years," Bamford said. "I think that it said it all when he went straight from getting promoted to then being in the England team and kind of became a mainstay there.
Some nice words from Patrick Bamford on Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha after they left Leeds this summer. States they 'deserve' the opportunities at Manchester City and Barcelona (via PA). #lufc pic.twitter.com/pSagR3mn6B
— Tom Carnduff (@TomC_22) July 21, 2022
"He deserved this chance, he deserves to go and win trophies and fight for trophies on all fronts.
"None of us can begrudge him for going. I think we were all kind of, as sad as it is, almost pushing him because he deserves it and it's his time."
Along with Phillips, Leeds will also be without Brazilian winger Raphinha, who spent two years in Yorkshire before completing a £50million move to Barcelona this summer.
After contributing 17 goals in 65 appearances for Leeds, Raphinha is another key player that needed replacing, with Marsch putting his faith in Feyenoord's Luis Sinisterra to do the job next season.
Three goal involvements for Raphinha on his Barcelona debut 👌 pic.twitter.com/OyUqar62Wl
— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 20, 2022
But similarly to Phillips, Bamford believes Raphinha was ready to make the step up from Elland Road to the Camp Nou.
"With Rapha, obviously everyone knew that Barca was like his boyhood dream. Even when he came back and whilst he was waiting for things to be sorted out, he was still good with the lads.
"He still trained hard in pre-season under Jesse, even though he knew what was going on, so they both deserve what they've got and we wish them all the best."
