West Ham United: Paul Brown shares ‘difficult’ Kavlin Phillips verdict
Paul Brown has urged West Ham fans not to worry after Kalvin Phillips’ slow start since arriving at the London Stadium since he is still adapting to the change in the style of play.
The former Express journalist insisted that, because the midfielder hasn’t played much this season, it will take him a while to get up to speed and adapt to playing every week.
He also claimed that David Moyes would have been more tempted to throw Phillips straight into his team given the quality he possesses compared to previous arrivals who have been given more time to bed in.
Speaking to Give Me Sport [5 February], Brown shared: “I don’t think Kalvin Phillips should be worried. I think it’s been a disappointing start for him at West Ham, but he’s been parachuted into a team that plays a wildly different style and system to Manchester City.
“He hasn’t played a lot of football this season. It’s going to be difficult for him to get up to speed straightaway in that situation.
“I think he’s just such a good player that he’s probably one of the only players Moyes has ever signed that he was pretty confident in throwing in quite quickly.”
Phillips needs patience at West Ham
Although he is a regular England international with plenty of talent, the midfielder was never going to step into the team at the London Stadium and immediately take them to the next level.
He was brought in not just for his quality but also his experience, having spent the last two seasons in and around Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City squad who have won almost everything there is to win in that time.
As a result, the idea was that Phillips could bring that added know-how into an already talented team in East London as they look to compete for further silverware following their Europa Conference League victory last season.
A mistake in his first game against Bournemouth after a pass was presented straight to Dominic Solanke was a poor start – although Kurt Zouma certainly didn’t help – and another mistake in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United have seen a frustrating start to his West Ham career.
However, with pressure beginning to grow again around the discussion about Moyes’ future, there is much more cause for concern than how long Phillips will take to adapt.
In other West Ham news, a senior official would find it difficult to turn down a move away.
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