West Ham United: Phil McNulty delivers ‘brutal’ Kalvin Phillips England call-up verdict
Kalvin Phillips doesn’t deserve an England call-up following his miserable start to life with West Ham, according to Phil McNulty.
Answering questions on the BBC Sport website on Monday (19 February, 02:54pm), the journalist said Gareth Southgate is “very loyal” and he suspects the 28-year-old midfielder will be in the squad for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
But he believes this would be a “high risk” move from the Three Lions boss after he barely played for Manchester City before making the loan move to the Hammers and he’s had a “complete nightmare” of a start at the London Stadium.
“I do not see how he warrants inclusion in the England squad at present because he barely played at Manchester City this season and his start at West Ham has been nothing short of a complete nightmare,” said McNulty.
“My personal view is that he should not be in the England squad but Southgate is very loyal and I suspect he will stick with Phillips for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium. High risk though as, to be brutal, he does not deserve to be in the squad.”
Kalvin Phillips needs to focus on West Ham form
It has been such a poor start to life with West Ham for Phillips and he’ll no doubt be so disappointed with his performances so far.
While that would usually push a player completely out of the picture for the national team, it’s no secret that he is one of Southgate’s favourites.
But the midfielder has to focus on his form with the Hammers before he can even think about playing for England, otherwise, he won’t be in the right space to go and do a job for his country.
It’s still very much early days for him at the London Stadium, but there is an awful lot of pressure on him to impress after the amount of money the club spent to secure him on loan.
He needs to work harder than ever now to get himself up to speed and in a position to play regular games at a high level as he looks to get his career back on track.
In other West Ham news, Troy Deeney has shared a “serious” Moyes sack verdict as he made a £200million prediction.
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