Ben Jacobs says the “main challenge” West Ham face when it comes to signing Kalvin Phillips permanently is the fee Manchester City are after.
Phillips arrived at London Stadium in the January transfer window amid much fanfare, but the loan move has not gone to plan thus far.
The England international will hope to make an impact in the final stretch of the campaign, which could then open the door for a permanent move.
Sharing an update via GiveMeSport [24 March], journalist Jacobs said: “The chances of a permanent move to West Ham are in the balance for form reasons, to some extent, although he obviously still has plenty of time to settle and win over West Ham.
“But the main challenge with Philips is the same as it was when the loan was discussed, which is price.
“In the end, no option to buy number was agreed between West Ham and Manchester City and West Ham will need to determine, come summer, whether they think there’s a deal to be done for Philips at value.”
Kalvin Phillips struggling in a West Ham United shirt
Phillips’ West Ham career got off to a slow start and he has yet to truly recover. In fact, the joke is that he is the first player to be axed from an England squad after seeing his playing time at club level increase.
The great irony is that Phillips may well have been in the Three Lions’ latest squad – the last one before the European Championship finals – had yet stayed at Manchester City.
On the basis of his eight – mainly substitute – appearances so far for United, there is no way the club will contemplate pursuing a move in the summer.
Football can change quickly, though, and Phillips has proved at Leeds that he is clearly a talented midfielder. It was also not so long ago Pep Guardiola described him as “exceptional”.
After two weeks on the training ground, there is no reason why he cannot now prove his doubters wrong.
Should he do so, the Irons will then weigh up if it is worth entering negotiations with City. For now, it is all over to Phillips.
