Manchester City and England star Kalvin Phillips is set to join West Ham United on loanuntil 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.
🚨 EXCL: West Ham reach agreement with Manchester City to sign Kalvin Phillips on loan until summer. Personal terms no issue + #WHUFC covering full salary. Juventus exploring but no agreement to date. Flying back to UK with #MCFC squad @TheAthleticFC#Juvehttps://t.co/599zMaleSU
Juventus, PSG and Barcelona were all said to be sniffing around a deal as well.
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.
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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
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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.
🚨⚒️ Kalvin Phillips to West Ham, here we go! Loan deal agreed with Man City and also on player side. One more from Tim Steidten.
Understand it will also include an option to buy clause in June for #WHUFC.
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.
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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.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
23rd January 2024 
