England midfielder Phillips completes loan move to West Ham

LONDON, ENGLAND | Xinhua | West Ham United has agreed to sign England midfielder Kalvin Phillips on loan until the end of the season in an agreement with no option to make the move permanent.

“I’m really pleased to be here,” said Phillips, who had his medical tests on Wednesday.

“There’s always been a lot of speculation about me moving to West Ham, so I’m really excited to get going now. 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,” he said.

West Ham coach David Moyes has long been an admirer of Phillips and tried to buy him from Leeds United in the summer of 2022, but instead Phillips opted to join Manchester City.

The move has not worked out for the midfielder, who made just two Premier League starts in a total of 290 minutes first-team football last season, with just four substitute appearances this season.

A lack of first-team action has affected Phillips’ international career and after being the first choice for England in Euro 2020, which was played in 2021, he dropped down the pecking order behind Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham and played just 40 minutes in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Although England coach Gareth Southgate has kept faith in Phillips, he had implied that the midfielder’s place in the squad for this summer’s Euro 2024 in Germany would be under threat if he continued without playing.

The move looks as if it will be mutually beneficial, with West Ham strengthening their squad for the second half of the season, while allowing the midfielder the game time to assure him a place in Germany in June. ■