During the summer, West Ham United were resigned to the fact that Declan Rice was to leave East London and would most likely move to Manchester or North London.
Whether it was Manchester City, Arsenal, or even the outside chance of it being Manchester United, Declan Rice was set to leave West Ham United and David Moyes was having to get used to that possibility.
Edson Alvarez was brought in as a replacement for Rice and he has done superbly well but another man, who has just been brought in, is surely the heir to the Rice throne that they have been looking for.
Kalvin Phillips completed his move to West Ham from City today and the Englishman could be that midfield anchor that the Hammers have been searching for.
Phillips’ struggles
Since moving to the Etihad Stadium from Leeds United in the summer of 2022, things have been very difficult for the 28-year-old, despite winning an amazing treble with City last season.
Due to Rodri’s superb performances for City, Phillips hardly got a look in and a move away from the champions of Europe always looked like a possibility either in the summer or this month.
Well, the move didn’t happen in the summer but it was confirmed that West Ham had completed the signing of the Yorkshireman, who will wear the number 11 shirt.
“There’s an unbelievable group here,” Phillips told the West Ham website, “and if I can come in and add the quality that I know I’m capable of, I’m sure we can give the West Ham fans plenty to be excited about between now and the end of the season.”
He has only made four appearances in the Premier League this season with a further four appearances coming in the Champions League. For Phillips’ sake, he needed to get out of Manchester.
Phillips showed during his successful spell at Leeds that he is a player with superb quality, multiple of the league’s top sides were keen on the 28-year-old.
If Pep Guardiola is keen on you, then you certainly have superb potential and talent, and Phillips has that in abundance.
Rice on Phillips
Perhaps the only way to replace Rice is to sign the midfielder the Arsenal star played alongside as England made it to the European Championship final at Wembley in 2021.
It seems that Rice was full of praise for the attitude shown by the 28-year-old when his game time at City was limited.
Speaking to talkSPORT back in November, Rice said: “He’s one of the best professionals I’ve ever seen, if I’m honest with you.
“I’ve seen players who don’t play and throw their toys out of the pram completely and with Kal, every time he comes back here he pops on a shirt and puts in 110 per cent.
“He played with me against Scotland and I think that was his first start in a while and he played really well, so I’ll never question his professionalism and I don’t think any of the lads will.”
Replacing the Arsenal midfielder was never easy but a midfielder who, despite his limited appearances, still ranks in the top two in Europe’s top five leagues for passes attempted and completed, according to FBREF, could well go some way to filling the Rice-shaped whole in the West Ham engine room.
The post West Ham move could be a stroke of genius, Declan Rice hailed star as 'one of the best professionals I’ve ever seen' appeared first on HITC.
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