Kalvin Phillips has revealed his loan move to West Ham ends a near two-year long pursuit by manager David Moyes.
The England midfielder has joined the Hammers for the remainder of the season after struggling for game time at Manchester City.
The 28-year-old has made just two Premier League starts for Pep Guardiola’s side since moving to the Etihad Stadium from Leeds in a £42million deal in the summer of 2022.
Phillips completed the move on Friday after West Ham rekindled an interest they first showed when he left Leeds.
Phillips told the club’s Iron Cast podcast: “I’m delighted. I was in Abu Dhabi with City, a warm-weather training camp, and all I could think about was getting a loan sorted.
“I spoke to ‘Moyesy’ over the phone while I was there. He reassured me that this was probably the best place for me to come on loan and that I’ll love every second and minute of it, and so far I have done. I’m very happy coming here. I’m looking forward to getting going.
“I think, honestly, if City hadn’t come in for me 18 months ago, then West Ham would have been the club I would’ve come to. It was always in the pipeline.
“Moyesy, he’s been after me for two years, he told me on the phone. So eventually, it was going to happen.”
Phillips was part of City’s treble-winning squad last season but, on a personal front, it was a frustrating campaign.
Injury initially restricted his opportunities but Guardiola could not find a clear role for him in his side and he rarely featured.
With the situation not improving this season, Phillips decided to seek opportunities elsewhere.
It was initially thought the loan move would include an option for West Ham to buy the player this summer but it is understood that is not part of the final agreement.
Phillips’ future beyond this summer will therefore be determined at a later date. In the meantime, he has a chance to build form and fitness that might boost his chances of retaining his place in the England squad ahead of Euro 2024.
He could also be part of an exciting end to the season with the Hammers, who are sixth in the Premier League and through to the Europa League knockout stage.
His debut may come as the club host Bournemouth in the league next Thursday.
Phillips said: “I’ve looked at the fixtures. Bournemouth and then United in Manchester. I’m ready and raring to go.
“I’m very excited to be here. It’s been a whirlwind few days but I’m here, I’m ready to play and I’ll give everything for the team.”
Moyes believes Phillips will be a good addition at the London Stadium.
The Scot said: “We’ve been big admirers of him for a long time and we believe that he will add strength and competition to our squad.
“Kalvin is an England international midfielder with proven Premier League experience. We’re excited to welcome him into the group and look forward to working with him.”
Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Darmstadt: Reus stars in farewell game
Marco Reus scored and assisted in his final Bundesliga game for Borussia Dortmund as they thrashed already-relegated Darmstadt 4-0.
The German teed up Ian Maatsen for the opener on the half-hour mark before scoring a stunning free-kick eight minutes later to put Dortmund in control.
Donyell Malen scored his 13th goal of the season to round things off after substitute Julian Brandt had latched onto Jadon Sancho's ball for a third.
Dortmund could have had more as Reus, Malen and Marcel Sabitzer struck the woodwork in either half, but it did not matter as Darmstadt struggled to show a threat.
Edin Terzic's side finished fifth in the final Champions League spot, while Darmstadt are relegated as the bottom club.
Data Debrief:
Reus has been directly involved in 251 goals in the Bundesliga (156G 95A in 391 games), making him just the third player to reach 250 goals and assists since his Bundesliga debut in August 2009, behind Thomas Müller 318 and Robert Lewandowski 367.
The German bids farewell to Signal Iduna Park having scored nine goals and assisting seven in all competitions this season, though he will be hoping to add to that tally in his final match for Dortmund - the Champions League final against Real Madrid on June 1.
Chelsea edge out Man City to claim fifth straight WSL title with thumping win at Old Trafford
Mayra Ramirez turned in a stellar performance to propel Chelsea to the WSL title in Emma Hayes' final match in charge as the Blues thrashed Manchester United 6-0.
Earlier in May, Hayes – who is ending a 12-year stint in charge of the Blues to become the United States coach – had all but given up on claiming a fifth straight WSL crown.
Yet Chelsea's 8-0 victory over Bristol City two weeks ago, combined with Manchester City's defeat to Arsenal, opened the door, and after beating Tottenham in midweek, the Blues knew a win, while maintaining their positive goal difference, would be enough.
And they made sure there was no room for error with an incredible first-half display inspired by Ramirez, who scored twice and set up goals for Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Sjoeke Nusken at Old Trafford.
Melanie Leupolz got in on the act early in the second half as Chelsea's celebrations began in earnest, with Fran Kirby netting late on to complete the rout on her farewell appearance.
Ultimately, City – likely deflated by the news coming from Old Trafford – held up their end of the bargain, but shorn of top goalscorer Khadija Shaw, Gareth Taylor's team could only beat Aston Villa 2-1.
City were constantly chasing their title rivals, with Ramirez and Rytting Kaneryd putting Chelsea 2-0 up at United inside eight minutes.
Mary Fowler nudged City ahead at Villa Park, though when Taylor's team went in at the interval, they will have seen additional goals from record signing Ramirez and Nusken had all but sewn up the title for Chelsea already.
Leupolz has scored her first WSL goal in over two years to add further gloss for Chelsea when they came back out from the restart in Manchester, and City were then hit by a further blow when Rachel Daly equalised for Villa.
Lauren Hemp, who had assisted Fowler's opener, restored City's lead, though it was never going to be enough, with Kirby's farewell goal ensuring Chelsea finished with a goal difference of 53 compared to their rivals' 46.
Chelsea are now unbeaten across their last nine WSL games that have come on the final day of the season, while the Blues are now nine WSL matches without loss against United, having won eight of those fixtures.
Hoffenheim 4-2 Bayern Munich: Tuchel bows out on defeat thanks to Kramaric hat-trick
Bayern Munich squandered a two-goal lead to slump to a 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim courtesy of a second-half Andrej Kramaric hat-trick in Thomas Tuchel's final game.
Early goals from Mathys Tel and Alphonso Davies saw the injury-depleted Bavarians go 2-0 up by the sixth minute.
Hoffenheim, however, pulled a goal back through Germany international Maximilian Beier just two minutes later, with the hosts gradually taking some of the early pace out of the game.
Bayern's injury troubles were further compounded when they lost Aleksandar Pavlovic to injury in the 35th minute, and struggled to cope with Hoffenheim's threat in the second half.
Kramaric then delivered a stunning 19-minute hat-trick with the Bayern defence in ruins, ending a disappointing season in third place with 72 points.
Bayer Leverkusen finished in top spot on 90 points. VfB Stuttgart finished runners-up on 73 with a 4-0 demolition of Borussia Moenchengladbach, while Hoffenheim finished seventh, in the Europa Conference League place.
Data Debrief:
Thomas Muller made his 473rd Bundesliga appearance for Bayern on Saturday, drawing level with Sepp Maier as the club's record appearance maker in the competition.
Bayern failed to have a single shot on target in the second half, while Kramaric ran riot to subject Bayern to their worst league finish since 2011.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
