West Ham United: Robbie Fowler urges Kalvin Phillips to apologise after incident Kalvin Philips should apologise for his actions following the West Ham United defeat to Newcastle United, according to Robbie Fowler.
Since moving to the London Stadium in January on loan, things haven’t gone particularly well for the Englishman. This all came to a head when he swore at Hammers fans following him giving a penalty away in the 4-3 loss to Newcastle.
Former Liverpool striker, Fowler has spoken out about the England international in a column with the Sunday Mirror (page 69, 7 April).
On that, he said: “Kalvin Phillips should not have reacted to the stick he was given as he boarded the West Ham team coach after the 4-3 defeat at Newcastle last weekend. But come on, cut him some slack. Phillips has seen his dream move from Leeds to Manchester City turn to a nightmare. His loan at the London Stadium has gone the same way.
“The lad is only human, something is going to blow and of course, there was a fan with their phone fully primed to capture the moment in 4kHD. Should he apologise? Yes, he is a professional who behaved in an unprofessional manner, even if it was for just a split second. But, then, let Phillips get on with the task of rebuilding his career.”
Should West Ham United sign Kalvin Phillips permanently?
Given that Manchester City signed Phillips for £42 million [Sky Sports] he wouldn’t come cheap in a move to East London.
It felt like an ideal fit when the former Leeds man joined the Hammers on loan in January but everything has just gone wrong so far. The Englishman has suffered from a general lack of minutes since his move to the Etihad but still has some positive underlying stats.
According to Fbref, he registers 72.44 passes per 90 with an 88.20% accuracy on average. This makes him useful for keeping play flowing and ticking over in the centre of the park.
There are some defensive stats which stand out and could have positives moving forward. 1.87 ariel duels, 2.11 tackles won and 1.05 interceptions per game point towards him being useful in a double-pivot system.
West Ham Kalvin Phillips Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror report on West Ham midfielder Kalvin Phillips [7 April]
Although these numbers could be viewed in a positive light, the fee that West Ham would have to pay for Phillips is not worth the risk.
If a cut-price fee could be agreed to remove some of the risk then it could be a clever move, but otherwise, he will be too expensive.
In other West Ham news, Jason Cundy and Jamie O’Hara argued about the latest controversy live on air.
