In his news conference on Friday (20 October), the Spaniard said he doesn’t know if the “perfect” England international would be at the team when the January transfer market opens. This is ahead of his team’s Premier League match against Brighton on Saturday (21 October).
In addition to German champions Bayern Munich and Newcastle United, who are looking for a loan move, The Sun claimed on October 19 that West Ham also wants to sign the former Leeds United player.
Despite being permitted to go in the summer, Phillips has had a difficult time getting into the game, making only three substitute appearances this year.
On October 10, the Sussex Express stated that the England international would very possibly be let to move during the January transfer window, with West Ham United one of the favorites to secure his signing.
And Guardiola’s rebuttal of Kalvin Phillips’ remarks from earlier in the week that he must continue playing football in order to continue shining for England appeared to have given other parties the green light to move on.
He said: “The transfer window is over, now we are here together. When we need a game with transitions or games with something with chaos Kalvin is perfect.
“When there is something you need to do, there are still one or two players who can do it better. That’s the simple reason. He will be here until winter. After, I don’t know what will happen because nobody knows once the window is open.”
Guardiola did not explicitly state that Phillips will depart the Etihad during the January transfer window, but he did provide a veiled allusion to his dissatisfaction with his restricted role at the club by claiming that he is only ideal in transitional situations.
Phillips is a capable midfielder who isn’t given the opportunity to show it in games. His Manchester City career never really got off, and he’s been overlooked in favor of their elite midfield alternatives.
West Ham United may appear to be the ideal option for all parties, but now that David Moyes has hired Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse, Phillips might find himself in a similar predicament if he decides to transfer to East London.
Phillips simply doesn’t seem to have enough room on the team to have a consistent and guaranteed role without displacing a star performer.
It won’t come as a surprise to see Moyes make the move for Phillips, who would undoubtedly add more steel and class to their play but would also significantly improve the quality in the squad, should Tomas Soucek leave the London Stadium in the near future as a result of recent transfer interest from Italy (CalcioMercato, 18 October).
With such high expectations for Europe both at the domestic level and in the Europa League, West Ham United can never have enough quality in their team.
How big of an effect would Phillips’ characteristics have on those ambitious goals?
