Despite Kalvin Phillips’ miserable recent run, David Moyes is adamant that West Ham United will “support” the former Leeds United player.
After the Hammers’ 4-3 loss to Newcastle United on Saturday, a video surfaced showing Phillips seemingly giving one fan the middle finger, which infuriated West Ham supporters. While traveling to the squad bus, the midfield player was the target of insults, with one person calling him “useless.”
After coming off the bench with his team leading 3-1, Phillips almost immediately gave away a penalty, although through a contentious call, which allowed Harvey Barnes to get by him and score the game-winning goal. Although the awful cameo summed up the disastrous loan time at the London Stadium, Moyes thinks the transfer might still be beneficial.
In response to the swearing incident, Moyes stated, “Kalvin’s a human being and what he needs is support and people to help him, which is what we’ll do.” “We need the support of our fans to provide for all of our players. Since Kalvin is a tremendously skilled player, I think we can still get something out of our time together.”
Two years will have passed since Phillips made the decision to leave Leeds and eventually sign a £42 million contract with Manchester City this summer. The midfield player was a fan favorite among Whites supporters and was voted England’s Player of the Year when he arrived to the Etihad, but since then, things have not gone as expected.
The 28-year-old Phillips decided to try and find more regular play elsewhere in January amid the possibility of missing out on the England squad for this summer’s European Championships due to fitness difficulties and the consistency of first-choice midfielder Rodri. A spot on the flight to Germany is improbable, though, after he struggled to get off to a good start at West Ham and was dropped for the March international break.
Phillips is anticipated to depart City permanently in the summer, and Leeds has recently been linked to a spectacular comeback for the player. The Whites can only afford such a deal if they return to the Premier League, but they are reportedly considering a possible £30 million bid for their former hero.