Moyes finally has a chance to put Phillips back in focus

AMONG the raft of wholesome YouTube content produced by England in the Gareth Southgate era, a rather joyous clip of Declan Rice presenting Kalvin Phillips with the national team’s Player of the Year award sticks in the mind.

- Malik Ouzia

“40,000 votes?” Phillips repeats, slightly stunned, as Rice surprises him with a BT-sponsored gold brick, recognition from England fans for a superb Euro 2020 campaign.

Had the proud Scotsman in David Moyes not prevented him from engaging in any such poll, it would surely have been 40,001.

Moyes had the Rice-Phillips partnership in mind when he made a club-record £50million bid to sign the latter from Leeds in January 2022, though his admiration by then was long-lived, the midfielder already on his radar by the time he returned for a second stint as West Ham boss late in 2019.

It has taken more than four years, a complete midfield revamp, the £105m sale of Rice and, for Phillips, a marked career downturn, but at last, Moyes has his man.

The 28-year-old today completed his switch from Manchester City on loan until the end of the season. It had been expected that the deal would include an option-to-buy, but that has been shelved for now after the clubs failed to agree terms.