West Ham reportedly made a late move to sign Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips before the end of the January transfer window.
The bid was confirmed by Jim White on talkSPORT as the reporter claimed the Hammers made an offer of ‘€50million plus 10million euros in add ons’ for the 26-year-old.
Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League defender Alan Hutton has suggested Phillips may snub a move to East London should West Ham reignite their interest in the summer.
Season on season, we can see the development and the player that he’s growing into. I mean, he’s one of the best defensive midfielders in the league at this moment in time, especially for his age. I think, and this is no disrespect to West Ham, he will have bigger ambitions to go to a proper top-four club. A club that’s challenging for trophies and league titles. He might not be there at this moment in time, but, in the summer, definitely in the next seasons, he’ll be there. I think his ambition would be greater than a £50million bid from West Ham in the January transfer window.
Capped 19-times by England at the senior level, Phillips has made a seamless transition to the top level following years in the Championship and League One.
This season the defensive midfielder has scored once and provided one assist in 15 appearances across all competitions.
READ WEST HAM VERDICT
Valued at £36million and under contract at Elland Road until 2024 (Transfermarkt), the mooted offers at the mid-season mark were optimistic, to say the least.
Perhaps targetted to feature alongside Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek with Mark Noble’s retirement in mind, Phillips would be a superb addition to David Moyes’ squad.
Whilst Hutton is right to suggest the England ace could attract attention from Champions League clubs, there’s no telling whether West Ham will qualify this term either via a top-four finish or winning the Europa League.
Furthermore, the prospect of European football is far greater in East London than in Yorkshire at present.
