Sport
Kalvin Phillips is joining West Ham United on loan from Manchester City
It's now thought to be a case of dotting a few Is and crossing some Ts.
Manchester City and England star Kalvin Phillips is set to join West Ham United on loan until the end of the season, according to reports.
Kalvin Phillips has long been considered one of the best English midfielders and homegrown talents but, unfortunately, simply hasn’t had enough minutes since joining Man City in 2022.
With Pep Guardiola himself confessing that he feels “so sorry” for how the former Leeds linchpin’s time at the Etihad has panned out, both the player and the club are looking to resolve the situation and they might have just found him a new home. At least in the short term.
Although the likes of Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Fulham, PSG and more were all said to be interested in signing Phillips, the latest is that West Ham have agreed a deal to take the defensive midfielder on for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign.
As reported by various outlets, as well as a so-called ex-West Ham employee who claims to have spoken with an insider at the club, the East Londoners were increasingly confident of securing the service of Kalvin Phillips, who would certainly help fill the hole left since Declan Rice joined Arsenal.
The fan-led site said: “As we understand it, talks have progressed and the player is very keen to join West Ham. The club at this stage appear to have advanced ahead of both Newcastle and Barcelona, who both have financial restraints to fund the move.”
This now seems to be the case as multiple outlets have now reported that a full agreement between the two clubs has been reached
Ever-reliable transfer source Fabrizio Romano also gave his famous ‘Here we go!’ following the update, not to mention being the first to claim that the deal may in fact include an option to buy in the summer, contrary to prior reports.
Read more:
While nothing concrete has been announced as yet, with just 89 Premier League minutes across four games this season and only 31 appearances for the club (most from the bench), the England international will no doubt be glad a deal in place, especially with Euro 2024 looming.
Although the details surrounding an option/obligation are yet to be fully confirmed, there is some feeling that his switch could go on to help serve as somewhat of a makeweight if City go back into the market for the Irons’ Lucas Paquetá — not taking into account their respective charges.
As always with transfers, these things move fast and local Man City and Man United reporter, Michael Plant, said he is hearing that Phillips’ “medical could even be tonight/tomorrow”, while German sports writer Florian Plettenberg suggests that everything will be finalised on Thursday.
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Images — Amazon Prime Video (screenshot)/Man City/Kalvin Phillips (via Instagram)
Sport
Both Manchester United and Manchester City named as teams with the least amount of local fans
Emily Sergeant
Both Manchester United and Manchester City have been identified as being teams with the least amount of local fans, according to a new survey.
We all know that supporting a local team can be seen as a mark of credibility among a certain kind of football fan, while on the flip side of that, not following a local team is often associated with being a ‘glory hunter’. But which Premier League clubs have the highest – and lowest – proportion of supporters living close to home?
Well, YouGov decided to use its profiles data to analyse the fanbases of all 20 Premier League clubs for the 2026-27 season to get the answer to this once and for all.
And it’s fair to say that it’s not looking the best for the Manchester teams.
The study found that, overall, Brighton & Hove Albion is the Premier League’s most local team – with 56% of fans based in the South East.
Sunderland (50%) and Nottingham Forest (49%) supporters are the next-most likely to live in the same region as their teams, followed by Aston Villa, Brentford, Ipswich, Leeds, Fulham, Hull, and Crystal Palace fans rounding out the top 10.
At the other end of the table, Manchester United has the second-lowest proportion of local supporters, with only a quarter based in the North West (23%), with one in six (17%) actually living in London instead.
And then as for Manchester City – who are widely considered to be the most successful team of the modern era – it has ranked fourth-bottom for local fans, as a quarter of the club’s supporters are based in the North West, with a fifth based in London (19%).
But although both United and City have found themselves towards the bottom end of the ranking, they are not the worst offenders.
Read more:
That title, unfortunately, does belong to another North West team though – Liverpool.
Liverpool is the club with the lowest proportion of ‘local’ supporters, as just a fifth are based in the North West (21%) with the next highest concentration of fans can being found in London.
Featured Image – Johnny Gios (via Unsplash)
Sport
Manchester Storm game postponed just one week after AO Arena return due to ‘technical issue with the ice’
Daisy Jackson
Manchester Storm’s second game back at the AO Arena had to be postponed over the weekend due to a ‘technical issue with the ice’.
The ice hockey team made a record-breaking return to the venue earlier this month, attracting some 11,000 fans to watch their match against Sheffield Steelers.
But just one week later, as Manchester Storm prepared to face off against The Nottingham Panthers, the game had to be postponed.
Fans were already inside the legendary venue when a ‘technical issue with the ice’ became apparent and the game was called off.
Manchester Storm and the AO Arena said they ‘sincerely apologise’ to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption.
The game has now been rescheduled to Wednesday 14 October, with tickets valid for the new fixture.
The full statement read: “Unfortunately today’s Manchester Storm game vs The Nottingham Panthers has been suspended due to a technical issue with the ice.
“We sincerely apologise to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption and would like to thank everyone in attendance for their patience.
“We advise attendees to retain their tickets which will remain valid for the rescheduled fixture.
“Those with single-game tickets for this game and seeking a refund are advised to contact their point of purchase.
“The rescheduled game will take place on Wednesday 14th October 2026.
“Manchester Storm and AO Arena would like to thank attendees for their understanding.”
Read more
Featured image: Supplied
Danny Jones -
23rd January 2024 
