Newcastle are set to encounter some challenging moments as they hope to sign Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City as Bayern Munich lurk ominously in the shadows ready to pounce on the midfielder.
The Toon are all gung-ho to sign the England star in January as their summer acquisition Sandro Tonali could be facing a 12-month ban if found guilty of illegal betting while at AC Milan.
Phillips, 27, is having problems getting regular time at City and is allegedly preparing to consider a January move to boost his hopes of featuring at the Euros next summer and Pep Guardiola is likely to let him leave on loan in January but is holding on a bit more to see how Newcastle will shape up as title rivals before making a decision, according to The Sun.
Bundesliga juggernauts Bayern Munich have also signified they are keen to sign Phillips, who was told he could leave in the summer but instead decided to fight for his spot at the Etihad despite having only started once for the Cityzens in all competitions this season. He admitted he was desperate for game time to book his place in the squad for next summer’s European Championship in Germany.
Phillips rued the fact he was suffering from a lack of match sharpness and was lucky not be sent off during England’s sensational 3-1 win over Italy on Tuesday after having been flashed a yellow card in the ninth minute and was lucky to remain on the pitch after not being shown second booking for a late tackle at the end of the first half.