01 February 2024 , 09:15
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David Moyes wants Kalvin Phillips to emulate Jesse Lingard by becoming West Ham’s latest loan star.
Three years ago Lingard arrived on a temporary deal from Manchester United and steered the Hammers to Europe. And Moyes hopes Phillips, who could make his debut against Bournemouth tonight after arriving from Man City until the end of the season, can have a similar effect because he is hungry to nail down a place in England’s Euros squad.
The Hammers manager has spoken to Gareth Southgate about Phillips and he has already told the midfielder: “If you can do half as good as Jesse, you’ll be doing a great job for us.”
It is unclear if the 28-year-old, who has not started a league game all season, will be sharp enough for a place in the starting XI this evening. And he is also aware that a starting spot is not certain.
“I had to tell him there’s competition for places here so there’s no guarantee,” Moyes added. “But he was game for that, which I liked. I hope we can give him a platform. I spoke to Gareth Southgate about him and he gave a glowing report in lots of ways.
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“We talked about how he can take the ball on, how he can play as a six, how he can play as an eight. He can do a couple of jobs in midfield. My only concern is he’s had a period where he’s not [been playing]. He has been for England so it’s not as if he’s [unfit] but I want the wheels to move really quickly if I can and get him up to speed.”
Lucas Paqueta came off early in West Ham's draw against Bristol City last month with a left leg injury and remains sidelined.West Ham do not expect to make another signing before the 11pm deadline. They will welcome Mo Kudus back from international duty but Lucas Paqueta has had another scan on his knee injury and there is no timeline for his return and Michail Antonio remains some way off.
"Antonio is back doing straight-line running but not training with the team. He's on the ball but just straight-line running and mostly with the medical staff," Moyes added. "Paqueta has been away in Madrid, he's back. I can't give a full update as I don't know all the stuff but he's been re-scanned again.
"It's possibly [a more problematic injury], yeah. But he is a boy who can come back just like that and could be back immediately. I really don't know how he is at the moment."