A Guardian journalist with strong Hammers contacts has fired an ominous warning to Leeds over West Ham’s Kalvin Phillips pursuit.
Last night The Evening Standard claimed West Ham have offered Leeds £50m for midfield star Phillips.
It came just 24 hours after Leeds reportedly rejected a £50m bid from West Ham for Phillips’s teammate Raphinha.
The classy Leeds ace rose to prominence in the summer when he starred in the heart of England’s midfield alongside West Ham’s own talisman Declan Rice.
And it appears Moyes wants to try and recreate that partnership at club level with an ambitious but rather puzzling £50m move for Phillips.
The bid has reportedly been rejected and fans of both West Ham and Leeds have been sceptical over the intent of the move.
Some West Ham fans believe the club is merely going for players they have little chance of getting to appear ambitious.
And some Leeds supporters question whether Phillips would leave his boyhood club for West Ham.
But Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg, who has strong contacts inside West Ham, has fired an ominous warning to Leeds over West Ham’s Phillips pursuit.
Guardian journalist’s ominous warning to Leeds over West Ham’s Kalvin Phillips pursuit
The reporter has suggested West Ham’s £50m bid for Phillips is just the start and they will be making ‘further bids in the summer’ if they’re not successful before the deadline.
“Moyes has also identified Phillips as a key target,” Steinberg reports for the Guardian.
“It is believed that West Ham are willing to make Phillips their record signing and have had a £50m bid for the England midfielder turned down.
“However Moyes is ready to wait until the summer for Phillips if the transfer does not happen this month. The 25-year-old is out until March with a hamstring injury, but he has proven himself at international level and has formed a solid partnership in England’s midfield with Declan Rice, West Ham’s captain.”
Earlier this season Phillips spoke out to deny reports of a rift between him and Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa (Daily Mail).
The Argentine boss also denied reports of a bust-up with Phillips insisting his decision to substitute him at half-time during a game against Brighton was purely tactical.