West Ham United already want to replace Kalvin Phillips with ‘rival’ transfer bid on the cards
West Ham have lined up Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney as an alternative for Kalvin Phillips, according to Alan Nixon.
Writing on his personal Patreon page [18 February], Nixon shared that Hammers scout Mick Brown watched Hackney up close last weekend.
Nottingham Forest are also said to hold an interest, but West Ham could table a rival bid if the 21-year-old continues to impress this season.
Nixon adds that Phillips’ poor form since joining the Irons on loan from Manchester City means that alternative options are now being sought.
West Ham must forget about permanent Kalvin Phillips signing
Phillips has now given away a couple of goals, played a part in a six-goal thrashing and been sent off across his first four West Ham games.
The red card in the 2-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, meaning he will miss the home game with Brentford, saw him labelled “a waste of space”.
Players can take time to get going when joining a club on loan midway through a season, but United spent a fair sum to bring him on board.
While he should not be written off entirely on the basis of the past few weeks, the Irons should not entertain the thought of a permanent deal.
City presumably want something north of £35million for the England international, which is now looking like a ridiculous amount of money.
Instead, a younger player from the second tier in Hackney looks the right way to go.
United have had good success when recruiting from Championship teams or relegated Premier League clubs, and Hackney could be the next taxi off the rank.
If nothing else, at least this Phillips loan deal has saved the club an even bigger amount in permanent transfer fees further down the line.
In other West Ham news, Karren Brady has appeared to make her stance on David Moyes’ future quite clear.
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