Kalvin Phillips has made a tricky start to his loan at West Ham United since joining the club from Manchester City – and Marcelo Bielsa has watched all of his games since leaving Leeds United.
Phillips, 28, ended a very difficult 18-month spell with the Premier League champions by going on loan to West Ham in January. But in his Hammers debut, he was guilty for Bournemouth’s goal in a 1-1 draw.
It saw him lose his starting spot when West Ham took on Manchester United last week, a 3-0 defeat. He came off the bench, giving the ball away for Manchester United’s third, scored by Alejandro Garnacho.
On Sunday, Phillips came on at half-time against Arsenal – but the Hammers suffered a huge loss to Mikel Arteta’s side, 6-0. Declan Rice scoring one and creating two, on his return to the London Stadium.
Ahead of the game, The Mirror published quotes from an interview with Phillips and claim that since his exit from Leeds in the summer of 2022, Bielsa has watched every single game Phillips has featured in.
Marcelo Bielsa has watched every Kalvin Phillips game since exit
Phillips is clearly rusty and lacking in match fitness. His sharpness has gone and if the England star has any chance of breaking back into Gareth Southgate’s side – he needs to rediscover his Leeds form.
Euro 2024 is fast approaching with England fixtures coming in March, and Phillips has not only got to win his Hammers place back – but also, find his form. There will be plenty of opportunities for Phillips.
The advantage of his move to East London is that West Ham are in Europe after Christmas, with the Hammers awaiting the Europa League play-off round before finding out the identity of their opponents.
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