Newcastle United to firm up interest in Man City ace and West Ham United target Kalvin Phillips, move appeals to him
Newcastle United are ready to firm up their interest in reported West Ham target Kalvin Phillips, according to 90.min.
The online outlet reported on Friday (1 December) that the Magpies have an interest in the Manchester City midfielder that predates a ban handed out to Sandro Tonali for betting breaches.
West Ham are named alongside Aston Villa, Liverpool, Juventus, Tottenham, and Borussia Dortmund as clubs to have enquired about the 27-year-old England international, who is out of favour under Pep Guardiola.
However, it is Newcastle who are said to be ready to step up their interest in the former Leeds United ace, with a loan move – including a purchase option – looking most likely.
Morever, 90.min state that the move is one that would appeal to Phillips.
Big ask
It is looking increasingly likely that the Hammers, who have a long-standing reported interest in Phillips, are going to miss out on the ex-Leeds man, who has no shortage of suitors looking to add him to their ranks in January.
In truth, there are probably areas of the pitch that need more urgent requirement than midfield, where David Moyes is actually pretty well stocked after reinvesting money from the sale of Declan Rice into Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse.
That being said, there is no doubt that Phillips would bring a long of quality to the West Ham engine room. He may have struggled to convince Guardiola, but he is a regular at international level and needs a home where he is going to be trusted and feel loved.
However, it looks as though Newcastle is going to be the club to potentially give him that home. West Ham are probably already in a position now were they need to put their focus elsewhere.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers have suffered a separate blow in pursuit of another long-term target.