West Ham have emerged as the most likely candidates to complete the loan signing of out-of-favour Manchester City man Kalvin Phillips with the Hammers poised to beat a string of big clubs to the deal.
Although Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, and Juventus have all been mentioned as potential bidders for the England international this month, it now seems that West Ham, who has been after the player for a while, is nearing a deal with the Champions. After Leeds United rejected a reported £50 million deal from the club in 2022 and sold the Yorkshireman to Pep Guardiola’s team for £45 million, David Moyes has long liked Phillips.
West Ham and Manchester City are reportedly finalizing the formalities. Manchester City is demanding a hefty £7 million loan fee for the brief stint. Following a challenging month for the Hammers that includes an FA Cup defeat to Bristol City and frustration against Sheffield United, Moyes will be ecstatic to pull off the coup ahead of Premier League opponents.
In the past, the Scotsman has been open about his feelings for Phillips. Before playing Leeds United in the top division in 2021, Moyes declared: “I’ve been a great fan of Kalvin Phillips for a long time. Whenever I watched Leeds play, and even during my unemployment when they won the Championship, I thought they had a great possibility and a really important player. Though perhaps other players were recommended before him, I believe he stepped up fairly fast and performed admirably to make the England squad.”
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Moyes attempted to spearhead a West Ham attempt to sign the player the following year, uniting Phillips and Declan Rice, his England teammate, at the center of the Hammers midfield.
Ahead of that meeting with Leeds United in September 2021, which the Hammers won 2-1 thanks to a late Michail Antonio goal, Moyes added: “The partnership with Declan and Kalvin Phillips has been really good. They are both incredibly energetic, they are both improving players. Kalvin is 25, Declan’s 22, I think you’ve got to say they are young midfield players and they have lots of room to get better because of their age.
kids will, I’m sure, as kids become older and comprehend it more fully. The way the teams are matched, I’m not sure if it will be a straight fight between them, but when English players play against one another, there’s always something special about it. The attraction of seeing two young English players compete on the same field is that they play comparable roles.
