West Ham United ruled out of Kalvin Phillips race with January update
West Ham United won’t be signing Kalvin Phillips as the Irons have “little to no money” for January transfers, according to Claret and Hugh.
The website reported on Monday (16 October) that the Hammers will not be making a move for the Manchester City midfielder, due to a lack of available funds as well as the quality already in David Moyes’ ranks following the additions of James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez in the summer.
Reports emerged that the Hammers were favourites to sign Phillips as he looks set to depart the Etihad Stadium in January having barely played under Pep Guardiola since making the switch from Elland Road [Sussex Express, 10 October].
While there was an interest in Phillips from West Ham after their initial sale of Declan Rice, that interest has since passed and Moyes is thought to be happy with his midfield options, as shown by his reluctance to make a final decision on Jesse Lingard’s future after he spent time training with the Hammers.
Claret and Hugh suggest that next summer, the Irons will be looking to add to their squad, but instead, the focus will be on a central defender, left-back and striker, rather than any extra additions to the middle of the park.
Good decision
While Phillips is a very good player and would have been a valuable addition to Moyes’ side either in the summer or January, West Ham do not need further additions in midfield as currently, they have one of the better trios in the Premier League.
Ward-Prowse and Alvarez have hit the ground running and had they struggled after arriving at the London Stadium you could understand why the Irons may look to make further additions, but unless one of them is to leave, there is no guarantee that Phillips would even start most weeks.
That would have thrown any potential move into doubt anyway as if Phillips leaves the Etihad in search of regular game time, he would be unlikely to join a side where he would remain a rotation option as he wouldn’t have solved any of his problems.
However, it does seem slightly worrying that Moyes doesn’t appear to have any money to spend at all in the January window, as the Irons could do with a couple more additions to be able to push for the European positions again this season.
They still lack that all-important 20-goal-a-season striker and are short of competitive options in defence. Hopefully, Moyes can find a couple of cheap deals to freshen up his squad.
In other West Ham news, Soucek was slammed by the Czech press for his performances in Euro 2024 Qualifying