Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish has sent a message to Kalvin Phillips after the Leeds United star agreed a new five-year deal at Elland Road.

Villa were one of the clubs thought to be interested in the 23-year-old during the summer but could not reach an agreement with the club, allowing them to strike a new deal with their star man.

Commenting on Phillips' Instagram post following the deal, Grealish said 'Congrats bro!' along with a love-heart and a fist-bump emoji.

 

 

 

 

 

Last season was a very eventful one for both sides, with Leeds narrowly missing out on automatic promotion before losing dramatically to Derby County in the play-offs.

Villa, on the other hand, won a play-off spot thanks to an excellent run of form late in the campaign before going on to beat the Rams at Wembley to win a place in the Premier League.

Grealish's side may not be giving up on signing Phillips just yet, however.

According to Football Insider, his new five-year deal has a release clause in it that can be activated if Marcelo Bielsa's side fail to win promotion this season.

The verdict

I am happy for Leeds fans that Phillips has decided to stay and it is brilliant to see such loyalty in football these days.

However, I cannot help but feel a bit gutted we didn't get to see a midfield made up of Grealish, Phillips and John McGinn this season.

But I'll get over it. It will now be very interesting to see just how much this new deal affects the Whites' form.