West Ham Exclusive: Kalvin Phillips in new 'overweight' drama - club chiefs not impressed

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Published on:

14 Feb 2024, 7:22 am

Kalvin Phillips was overweight when he joined West Ham on loan from Man City last month, sources have told Football Insider.

It is believed that Phillips was "four to five lbs over his target weight" when he signed on loan in the January window.

Manager David Moyes and his coaching staff at West Ham were unimpressed by Phillips' conditioning and have b

He started in his first game against Bournemouth on 1 February but lasted only 68 minutes before being subbed and has started on the bench in the subsequent league fixtures against Man United and Arsenal, playing 18 minutes and 45 minutes respectively in those two matches..

It is not the first time Phillips' conditioning has been called into question, with Man City boss Pep Guardiola previously speaking out about the midfielder.

West Ham chiefs 'unimpressed' amid new 'overweight' Phillips news

As quoted by Sky Sports in 2022, Guardiola claimed the 27-year-old returned from the World Cup in Qatar “overweight” and “not in the right condition to train”.

Since joining West Ham, Phillips has told The Times (10 February) that the situation at City was a "big knock" to his confidence and admitted he was "lethargic" in his first Irons appearance.

The midfielder must now fight for a starting berth at the London Stadium amid competition from the likes of Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek.

Prior to joining West Ham, Phillips had made 10 appearances in the 2023-24 campaign totalling just 318 minutes of action.

Football Insider revealed on 8 February that Moyes' side have paid a £3million loan fee to City to take him on loan for the second half of the season.

It is believed the Londoners have been told they will have to play £40million to make Phillips’ loan permanent.

The 31-cap England international is hoping regular game time with the Irons will be enough to keep him in Gareth Southgate's plans for the European Championships later this year.

In other news, West Ham stars want board to make big decision.

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