West Ham dodged Nat Phillips bullet after FA Cup horror show
West Ham have come under criticism for not signing any new players in January but they have done well to avoid Nat Phillips.
The Irons were known to be interested in the Englishman and were in touch with agents regarding a potential deal in the transfer window [Claret and Hugh] but the move never materialised.
The 24-year-old instead headed for the south coast and Bournemouth on loan from Liverpool where he hopes to add a promotion to his footballing CV.
His debut at the Vitality Stadium didn’t go as planned however as he turned in a horror display in the Cherries’ shock defeat to National League Boreham Wood in the FA Cup on Sunday (6 February).
The rabbit in the headlights display against opposition well below his standards showed exactly why David Moyes and the Hammers have dodged a bullet.
At 24 years of age, he should have played far more football than he has already and that isn’t necessarily the fault of the player.
Liverpool have kept him at Anfield for far too long with this being just his second loan spell after a year in Germany with Stuttgart in 2019-20.
He was thrust into the limelight last season as the Reds suffered extreme injury problems at centre-half and he did alright when called upon.
But he did have a world-class team in front of him so he wasn’t tasked with too much defending for the majority of games.
Now though he is being found out as the National League side tore into the Cherries and came away from the game as deserved winners with a trip to Everton the prize.
The Irons may need cover at centre-half, but Phillips is not, and will never be, the answer they’re looking for.
In other West Ham news, ExWHUEmployee has issued an update on Kurt Zouma after the latest development overnight.