Kalvin Phillips’ struggles at West Ham United continued today, with the midfielder on loan from Manchester City making another error leading to a goal.
Phillips endured a nightmare debut in midweek, with Phillips starting against Bournemouth at the London Stadium.
Within just minutes of the game starting, Phillips played a backpass that came up short, with Dominic Solanke scoring.
Today, Phillips was named on the bench against Manchester United by David Moyes, giving Phillips an opportunity to feel his way into the game.
He was sent on around the 72-minute mark – and it was another poor display from the City man…
Man City midfielder Kalvin Phillips struggles on second loan appearance for West Ham
It is fairly obvious to say that Phillips is lacking match sharpness, having barely featured for Man City before his loan move.
He made just nine appearances for City before leaving.
So it is going to take some time for him to get going, but there is no denying that Phillips has really struggled so far for the Hammers.
Today against United, in the 25 minutes he was on the pitch, he just didn’t have an impact for the Irons. His passing was safe, and made just one tackle and one interception (Sofascore). He won just two of the six duels he contested.
The Evening Standard published player ratings after the game, and Phillips was given a 4/10 for his performance, with the summary reading: “Having a dreadful start to his West Ham career, losing ball in build-up to Garnacho clincher.”
Phillips needs time
So today was another one to forget for Phillips, but he needs time to get back into the swing of things.
He has been on the bench so much for City, and you can tell that his confidence is completely shot at the moment.
Possibly, it could be several weeks before we see the Leeds United version of Phillips again, and hopefully David Moyes can allow that player to come to the fore. Moyes has shown previously with Jesse Lingard that he can get players lacking minutes and confidence to play to their best level again.
It’s a tricky period for him right now, but City fans would like to hope that he can make the most of the move.
