West Ham have signed Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips on loan for the rest of the season.
Phillips was widely expected to leave City in the January transfer window, having struggled for regular minutes since arriving from Leeds United for a £45million fee in July 2022.
The England international has only made six starts across all competitions in 18 months with Pep Guardiola’s side, with just two of those coming in the Premier League.
Phillips has not started a single league game this campaign, prompting Guardiola to apologise for his lack of gametime last month, saying the 28-year-old “doesn’t deserve what has happened to him”.
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Newcastle United were strongly linked with a move for Phillips, but with the Magpies adopting a cautious approach in the transfer market after seeing Everton and Nottingham Forest charged with breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, West Ham got their man.
There is reportedly no option to make Phillips’ stay at the London Stadium a permanent one, but for now, the midfielder is simply focused on enjoying his football again.
“I’m really pleased to be here,” he told the club’s website. “There’s always been a lot of speculation about me moving to West Ham, so I’m really excited to get going now.
Forging a Lion’s legacy 🏴 pic.twitter.com/gsx03oRPgj
— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 26, 2024
“There’s so much to look forward to in the second half of the season for the club and I can’t wait to be part of it.
“There’s an unbelievable group here and if I can come in and add the quality that I know I’m capable of, I’m sure we can give the West Ham fans plenty to be excited about between now and the end of the season.”
With the Hammers finding themselves in contention for a top-six Premier League finish and eyeing another long European run in the Europa League, boss David Moyes believes Phillips’ experience can help him make an immediate impact.
“We are really pleased to bring a player of Kalvin’s quality to West Ham United,” Moyes said. “We’ve been big admirers of him for a long time and we believe that he will add strength and competition to our squad.
“Kalvin is an England international midfielder, with proven Premier League experience. We’re excited to welcome him into the group and look forward to working with him.”
