West Ham have signed midfielder, Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City until end of 2023-24 season, with option to buy in summer.
Phillips has struggled for game time at Man City this season with just 10 appearances in total across all competitions.
The 28 year-old has however started in just two of his 10 appearances, which came away at Newcastle in the Cityzens’ shock Third Round exit of Carabao Cup in September 2023, and in a 3-2 win at Red Star Belgrade in UEFA Champions League in December 2023.
His sole goal of the campaign also came in that latter start but with UEFA Euro 2024 on the horizon this summer, Pep Guardiola decided to let Phillips join West Ham on loan to gain game time as the midfielder looks to secure his spot in the England squad.
West Ham will also have a buy option to sign Phillips this summer for £40m, which would bring his difficult two-year spell at the Etihad to an end, having scored just one goal in 31 appearances since he joined from Leeds in July 2022.
Speaking about his decision to move to East London on loan for the remainder of this season, Phillips is “really pleased” to be at the club as he commented: “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.
“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.”
Manager, David Moyes added: “We are really pleased to bring a player of Kalvin’s quality to West Ham United,” said Moyes, who adds Phillips to a group of central midfielders which includes James Ward-Prowse, Edson Álvarez and Tomáš Souček.
“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.”
Across his time at Man City, Phillips was part of their treble-winning squad which won Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles last season, plus the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup – where he made a substitute appearance in their semi-final win over Urawa Reds.
Phillips will wear the number 11 shirt and could make his debut in the Hammers’ Premier League match at home to Bournemouth on Thursday 1 February.
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