Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has open up on his side's failed move to prize Kalvin Phillips away from Elland Road in the summer of 2019.
Phillips was heavily linked with a move following Leeds United's heartbreaking play-off defeat to Derby County in the 2018-19 playoffs but would instead opt to remain with his boyhood club and played a central part in last season's Championship triumph.
He has this season established himself as an England regular and made a bright start to life in the Premier League, although was this week hit by the news he could miss up to six weeks with a shoulder injury that he suffered in Monday night's defeat to Wolves.
That means he will miss Friday's trip to Villa Park, where his Leeds teammates will come up against the club that to drag him away from West Yorkshire last summer.
Ahead of this weekend's Smith has discussed Villa's previous interest in Phillips.
"He was on a list of players that we were interested in," he told Birmingham Live. "As far as I was aware it never got past initial talks stage with the price tag they wanted and rightly so if you look at their season last year and what they're going now."
Smith also admitted that Phillips' loss will be a big one for Marcelo Bielsa.
"Yeah, similar to Vardy not being in the Leicester team. He's been pivotal to the way they play and has rightly earned his way into the England team as well."
The subject of Phillips' decision to remain at Leeds after the 2019 playoff defeat was brought up earlier this summer by Angus Kinnear, who quickly pointed to the Thorp Arch graduate's commitment to the cause at Elland Road.
"Everybody wants to play for Leeds in the Premier League," Kinnear said shortly after Leeds were confirmed as champions back in July. "Last year it was a bit more challenging.
"If you wanted an example of what makes this club truly special, it's very difficult to talk about club loyalty existing in football nowadays. I don't think it exists. But it existed with Kalvin Phillips.
"Kalvin Phillips made an absolutely crazy financial decision to stay with Leeds United for another year. It made no sense. But he did it because he believed in the club. He loves the club. And he wanted to take us back where we belong.
"We asked him to give us one more year and you'll be playing for Leeds United in the Premier League."
