West Ham United: Alex Crook shares Kalvin Phillips update following loan switch from Manchester City
West Ham may not be able to sign Kalvin Phillips permanently from Manchester City due to his wages, according to Alex Crook.
Phillips completed his loan switch from City to West Ham on Friday (26 January), with the Irons paying a fee and covering the midfielder’s wages.
There is not an option in the agreement for United to sign the England international permanently, but City would be open to negotiating a price.
However, talkSPORT reporter Crook has cast doubt on whether West Ham are in a position to even consider signing Phillips beyond the summer.
“From what I understand, that option [to buy Phillips permanently] isn’t set in stone,” he said on the All Access podcast [26 January, 41m 27s].
“That’s because West Ham aren’t completely certain they can take on his wages as a permanent signing.”
Very talented
Bringing in Phillips on loan is a good piece of business on the face of it, but ideally the short-term deal would have come with an option to buy.
If he lights up London Stadium, as we all hope he will, it will only encourage City to ask for more money than they would currently be asking for.
In many ways, it is like West Ham are being punished for taking a punt on a player whose career has fallen off a cliff over the past 18 months.
If United are in a position to negotiate a fee with City for Phillips, though, then it is in the player’s best interested to accept a pay cut.
While it is not quite the same, this is the type of signing that could be similar to the arrival of Jesse Lingard from Manchester United.
Phillips is a very talented player who just needs somewhere he can play more regularly under a manager who trusts him.
The best-case scenario is that he does exactly that and West Ham then sign him permanently at the end of the season.
For that to happen, Phillips needs to ensure he hits the ground running when he puts on the famous shirt for the first time.
In other West Ham news, a first-team player has reportedly had offers to leave London Stadium this month.
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