WHO YOU GONNA KAL?
Seven clubs Kalvin Phillips could join next including Leeds and European giants as Man City eye cut-price transfer
Four huge European clubs could be in the frame to sign Phillips despite his torrid form over the last few months
KALVIN PHILLIPS' nightmare loan spell at West Ham is going from bad to worse.
The Manchester City loanee, 28, suffered a horror debut back in February as his error gifted Bournemouth the opening goal in a 1-1 draw.
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He then made another mistake three days later, losing possession as Manchester United scored their third in a 3-0 win.
He was brought on for 45 minutes in the humbling 6-0 defeat to Arsenal, before he was sent off for two yellow cards in three minutes against Nottingham Forest.
And on Saturday, with West Ham leading 3-1 away at Newcastle, he gifted the hosts a way back into the game by fouling Anthony Gordon and conceding a penalty.
Newcastle went on to win the game 4-3.
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His poor performances have also culminated in him being dropped from Gareth Southgate's England squad for the recent friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
And with his form showing no sign of improvement, it leaves his future beyond the end of the season totally unclear.
So where will Phillips be at the start of the 2024/25 campaign?
Here are seven possible destinations for the midfielder in the summer as Man City prepare to offload him for a cut-price of £30million.
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West Ham
West Ham do not have an option-to-buy clause in Phillips' loan deal, but could still seek to make his move permanent in the summer.
That is despite him showing few signs of improving David Moyes' side, with the Englishman currently having accumulated more red cards than goal contributions since arriving in East London.
'He's wasting his time playing' - Ex-Premier League referee bizarrely tears into Kalvin Phillips for getting sent off
Leeds
Perhaps the most likely move for Phillips is a return to his boyhood club Leeds - providing they secure promotion back to the Premier League.
He left Elland Road for Man City in 2022, but would undoubtedly be welcomed back with open arms to the place where he made his name.
Phillips played 234 games for Leeds and was pivotal in helping them win the second tier in 2020.
Juventus
Italian giants Juventus were heavily linked with a move for Phillips in the January window, before they pulled out of the deal due to his financial demands.
But they could yet return for him in the summer if Man City are prepared to get rid for just £30m.
Newcastle
Newcastle lost out to West Ham in their pursuit of Phillips at the start of the year.
But with Eddie Howe set to dip into the transfer market in the summer following a dismal campaign, Phillips could yet move back to the top of the Toon's transfer wishlist.
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich have already shown a desire to bring in English players from the Premier League with Harry Kane and Eric Dier both making the switch over the last 12 months.
Phillips could be the next Three Lions star to join the German giants - particularly if Joshua Kimmich does not sign a new contract and is sold by the Bundesliga club.
Phillips’ West Ham loan is a disaster… it’s toe-curlingly difficult to watch, says Dave Kidd
By Dave Kidd
HE’S had an extraordinary career, Kalvin Phillips.
A Treble-winner and one of only 12 living Englishmen to have started the final of a major international tournament.
A home-town hero at Leeds, where he was the kingpin of Marcelo Bielsa’s buccaneering Championship-winning side and feted as the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’.
England’s Player of the Year in 2021, when the Three Lions reached a final for the first time in more than half a century.
Indeed, Phillips has featured in most of England’s best wins of the last three years — against Germany and Denmark at those Euros, home and away in qualifiers against Italy, against a Belgium side ranked No 1 in the world, the World Cup thrashing of Senegal and in last autumn’s hammering of the Scots.
That record for Gareth Southgate’s side points to a great irony.
If Phillips had stayed put as a Manchester City bench-warmer, he would be going to Germany this summer and quite possibly as a starter.
The mighty man-bun man has been a fine footballer and, at 28, he might become one again.
Phillips is also a good bloke too, much-loved in the England squad and attracting a full house from the entire Leeds staff when the club held a leaving do before his Etihad move in a £45million deal.
But right now Phillips has become unwatchable. Toe-curling, cringeworthy, hide-behind-the-sofa-the-Daleks-are-coming levels of unwatchable.
His loan switch to West Ham, which originally looked sensible for club and player, is an unmitigated disaster.
And it feels as if Phillips is at the centre of a football-wide conspiracy which has deemed that anything which could go wrong, will go wrong.
Barcelona
Barcelona were another of the huge European clubs touted with a move for Phillips in January.
And they have endured a midfield injury crisis this season - with Gavi, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong all sidelined.
Could Phillips be the answer to their problems?
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Atletico Madrid
Like Barcelona, Atletico Madrid were also in the frame for Phillips during the mid-season window.
Manager Diego Simeone's style of play could well fit the ex-Leeds man perfectly should he be open to a LaLiga move.
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