Manchester City have confirmed the signing of England international defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United.
Phillips, 26, will join City on a six-year deal for a fee of up to £45m having made 235 appearances across eight seasons, scoring 14 goals for the Lilywhites.
Had Leeds been relegated, a release clause of £24m would have become active but instead a deal was struck by City to land the highly rated player who was converted from an attacking midfielder into a defensive midfielder by former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa.
Phillips will wear the number 4 shirt – previously worn by City legend Vincent Kompany who is now the Burnley manager.
The England international midfielder was a key member of Gareth Southgate’s England side that made it to the European Championship final at Wembley and also played an important role in helping England qualify for this year’s World Cup finals in Qatar.
And the Leeds United fan made it clear that he wanted to join City rather than their rivals Manchester United once he discovered that Pep Guardiola wanted to sign him.
Phillips, who can also play at centre half in a back three, will fill a gap in the City midfield after the departure of club legend Fernandinho, who joined Club Athletico Paranaense in Brazil this summer.
Speaking about his move, Phillips said: “I am absolutely delighted to have joined Manchester City.
“City have again proved to be the best team in the country with an amazing squad and a manager in Pep Guardiola who is rightly considered to be the finest in the world.
“To be able to play under Pep and learn from him and his coaching staff as well as be part of such a fantastic squad is a prospect that I am incredibly excited about.
“City are a world-class Club with world-class staff and facilities and it’s a dream come true to have joined the Club.
“Now I can’t wait to get started and to look to try and help the team to go on and achieve more success.”
Director of Football Txiki Begiristain added: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to welcome Kalvin to Manchester City.
“He is a player that we have long admired, and at both domestic and international level, he has proved his fantastic ability and quality over the past few seasons.
“His reading of the game, alongside his passing ability, energy and drive make him a formidable talent and he is a player who has a fantastic will to win.
“We feel he will be a superb addition to our squad and that he will complement our game perfectly.
“Everyone here is looking forward to watch Kalvin play and develop even further over the next few years.”
Moving in the opposite direction in a separate deal was City midfielder Darko Gyabi.
The 18-year-old midfielder didn’t make a senior squad appearance for City – he spent much of last season injured – but his departure will hand City another £5m into their summer war chest.
A number of City players have also left the Etihad permanently this month.
Arsenal today confirmed the signing of City striker Gabriel Jesus on a long term deal.
Jesus, who will wear the number 9 shirt for the Gunners and only had a year remaining on his City deal, has left for a fee believed to be £45m.
The popular Brazilian, 25, scored 95 goals in 236 appearances in his time at City since arriving in January 2017 but has left to gain more game time ahead of the World Cup in Qatar this winter.
Also departing were Spanish right back Pedro Porro to Sporting Lisbon for £7.65m and Japanese centre back Ko Itakura to Borussia Moenchengladbach for £4.5m.
And Irish international goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu left for Southampton for a fee of up to £15m.
All three are full internationals but none of them had played for City’s first team while Belgian defensive midfielder Romeo Lavia might also join Bazunu on the south coast – he looks set to join for a fee of up to £14m.
Both players will have buy-back clauses inserted into their deals, meaning that the Saints could cash in if City come back for their players in the future.