West Ham United and Newcastle United ready to battle Juventus for Kalvin Phillips as transfer news emerges
West Ham United and Newcastle are ready to battle Juventus to sign Kalvin Phillips in the January transfer window, according to Tuttomercatoweb.
Italian journalist Marco Conterio, writing for the news outlet (9 November) reports that the England international desperately wants to leave Manchester City in search of regular minutes ahead of next year’s European Championships.
Manchester City are willing to sell the midfielder but only if interested parties cough up a fee of around €50million (£43.6m) however, West Ham and Newcastle as well as Juventus do not want to pay that fee in January but are open to a loan deal.
The Serie A giants are seriously considering a move for the midfielder as they look to plug the gaps left by the suspended Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli.
However, they face a battle with the Hammers and Newcastle who are also seeking reinforcements in midfield.
Unlikely
Phillips is a quality midfielder but is not offered the game time to prove it. His Manchester City career never took off and he’s been lost in the shuffle of their world-class midfield options.
West Ham United certainly could seem like the perfect move for all parties involved but after David Moyes acquired the services of James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez, Phillips could be stuck in a similar situation should he make the move across to East London.
There just doesn’t seem to be the space in the squad for Phillips to have a regular and guaranteed role without displacing a standout player already at the club which makes a potential move for him unlikely.
Also, the fee Manchester City are quoting right now is far out of the Hammers reach for Phillips, especially if they are unwilling to accept a dry loan.
Nonetheless, West Ham United currently have a bigger positional issue to address this winter and that is the striker position which makes a move for big-money Phillips incredibly unlikely.
In other West Ham news, one “exceptional” Premier League defender was top of David Moyes’ transfer wishlist for the January window before a recent development last month.