Tony Cascarino has backed Kalvin Phillips to thrive during his loan spell at West Ham United.
Gary Lineker recently claimed that the Englishman’s temporary move to the Hammers is the “standout signing” in the January transfer window.
It was claimed last Monday that David Moyes was convinced that he could get the 28-year-old playing his best football again.
Tony Cascarino has backed “terrific” Kalvin Phillips to thrive at West Ham
The £42 million (The Athletic) man may be integrated into proceedings at the London Stadium from the get-go, considering they have yet to win a single game in all competitions since before Christmas last year.
Gary Neville also believes the Sky Blues loanee will get plenty of game time at the East London side.
Now, Tony Cascarino has given his two cents on why he expects Kalvin Phillips to succeed at West Ham on loan.
“Now, on the positive side for him, Kalvin Phillips, he’s now going to a club where the manager [David Moyes] is quite open, it’s his signing. He wants him. He’s going to play him. And Pep Guardiola said a few worth there that are absolutely spot on.”
“If he’d have played 15 games in a row, which he never did, you’ll see the best of Kalvin Phillips. Players cannot keep their fitness up by just sitting on benches. They can train their socks off, they can run around all day long but you can’t ever replicate what you need to do during a football match of 90 or 100 minutes. And I think you’ll see the best of Kalvin Phillips as he plays more and more for West Ham this year because he’s a terrific footballer”, he said on talkSPORT.
Interestingly, Tony Cascarino, who reckons Kalvin Phillips will fare well at West Ham even thought he would have been a brilliant signing for Liverpool at one point.
“You know, I said before, you know harping on about Liverpool, Kalvin Phillips at Liverpool, when they had players like [Georginio] Wijnaldum moving on and [Jordan] Henderson and [James] Milner, you’re looking at them, I was thinking Kalvin Phillips would’ve been a great signing for Liverpool, at the time. The way that they play.”
“He’s just, I think he took the option to go to the club that gave him the most money but very little football.”
Kalvin Phillips has no reason to doubt himself at the London Stadium
In our view, Tony Cascarino makes several fair points to back up why he believes Kalvin Phillips will be a hit of a loan signing for West Ham.
While Phillips may have suffered a dip in his self-belief at the Etihad Stadium, he has no reason to doubt himself at the London Stadium.
Kalvin Phillips has shown that he can be pivotal for a mid-table team in the past in Leeds United and one could argue that West Ham possess much more quality than his boyhood club did at the time.
With David Moyes continuing to prove his calibre at West Ham as well, the treble-winner has all the conditions in place to recapture his best form in claret and blue.