West Ham United transfer news as £35million Kalvin Phillips update emerges amid Liverpool plan after ‘overweight’ issue
Kalvin Phillips wants a move to Liverpool despite “strong interest” from West Ham in a summer move, according to the Daily Star.
The former Leeds United favourite has had a miserable debut campaign at Manchester City, having suffered with injury and fallen out of favour with Pep Guardiola over his weight after the World Cup.
He looks likely to leave the Etihad after just one season as a result, with the Hammers eager to capture the player they bid for when he was at Elland Road last season [Sun, 5 February 2022], but after Jurgen Klopp’s side dropped out of the Jude Bellingham stakes a £35million move for his England colleague could be on the cards.
The Daily Star says of the 27-year-old’s struggles at City: “Guardiola was less than impressed when Phillips took his full nine day holiday allocation, before heading back to Manchester lacking the expected fitness levels required.
“Guardiola publicly criticised Phillips before Christmas after claiming he’d returned from the World Cup overweight – and banished him from training due to being out of shape.
“Since then Phillips has become an outcast and has started just two games in all competitions.”
The report goes on to state: “And despite strong interest from West Ham, Phillips would relish the chance to reboot his career at Anfield and boost his chances of being involved in next summer’s Euros with England.”
Threat
There is always a knock-on effect with high-profile deals and the Bellingham situation has apparently put the potential champions in line to scupper a West Ham transfer push.
Irons captain Declan Rice may be the first of all the star England midfielders to move this summer, and if it is City that come in strongly for him there could be scope for a swap deal that works well for whoever is set to be manager next season.
But otherwise Phillips could prove out of reach once more after the £55million bid last year, and with Rice expected to leave either way it would leave a big hole to fill.
Even allowing for the slump this season at Anfield it hasn’t been on the same level as the one that has seen David Moyes likely head for a Hammers exit in the summer.
Although there has been a long-awaited revival in results recently it is too little too late for the season as a whole, with survival in the relegation battle and a potential Europa Conference League title a late consolation now.
If the manager changes the club needs to be able to convince potential signings that there will not be a repeat performance of the current campaign, then they may stay a chance in races for players of Phillips’ calibre.
He is certainly a player worth pursuing if Liverpool’s bid never materialises, assuming his injury and weight concerns have been sorted, because able deputy for Rice he may be, he won’t be much good in the treatment room after just 102 Premier League minutes so far this year.