Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips close to loan move to West Ham

It appears that West Ham is about to secure Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City for the remainder of the season. While the agreement has yet to be officially confirmed, the midfielder has already consented to the transfer and is expected to settle in nicely at the London Stadium.

It is still uncertain if West Ham will have the opportunity to purchase Phillips. Although they are currently paying his salary of £140,000 per week, discussions about an acquisition option are ongoing.

When West Ham considers whether they can keep Phillips permanently, they will consider their financial fair play situation.

By the end of this week, there should be a temporary agreement closed. Phillips will return from vacation on Tuesday and must take a medical exam on Thursday. Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Fulham, and Juventus had their sights set on him, but West Ham has been the most assertive candidate.

David Moyes has always been a fan of Phillips and attempted to recruit him from Leeds back in the day. However, the footballer, who is now 28 years old, moved to City as of summer 2022. Unfortunately, he's been having trouble adjusting to Pep Guardiola's playing style. Phillips hasn't yet kicked off in any Premier League games this season and really needs to play regularly if he hopes to be part of England's roster for Euro 2024.

England's coach, Gareth Southgate, has shown faith in Phillips amidst competition from other players at West Ham including Edson Álvarez, Tomas Soucek, and James Ward-Prowse. Álvarez and Ward-Prowse joined the team after Declan Rice moved to Arsenal for a significant amount of £105m last year. Despite this, the West Ham manager, David Moyes, believes that he requires additional midfield backup.

West Ham is still looking for a player to play on the left side of the field as Lucas Paquetá is currently unable to play due to a calf injury. The team's original plan for this month was to recruit a center-back player.