Leeds United managing director Angus Kinnear has revealed he is frustrated at criticism of chairman Andrea Radrizzani as he does not feel any other team in the league would have kept a £20m player.
Kalvin Phillips was wanted by Aston Villa in the recently concluded transfer window, but the Villans never got close to what Leeds would have accepted as a fair bid for the midfielder.
The Leeds academy graduate did reject an offer of a new deal, but never agitated for a move and the Whites eventually held their nerve and kept Phillips at Elland Road.
Kinnear does not believe another Championship club would have made sure a £20m player stayed.
“I can’t think of another team in the league who’ve kept a £20 million player", Kinnear told The Athletic.
“That was very important for us.”
The top Leeds official also revealed that the club rejected bids of worth £35m for several of their top players such as Luke Ayling, Adam Forshaw and Pablo Hernandez.
And he admits that it frustrates him when owner Radrizzani receives criticism for his prudent ways as if he had been in it for the money, the Italian would have sold the players.
“This is where I get a bit frustrated about the criticism of Andrea’s financial investment", Kinnear says.
“If he was only thinking from a financial point of view, he’d have sold them.”
