Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano explains how West Ham beat Crystal Palace to major transfer

Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has spoken about this Kalvin Phillips transfer deal as he closes in on a loan move from Manchester City to West Ham United.

The England international had been struggling for playing time at Man City and it makes sense for him to seek a move like this that might enable him to get back to starting matches more often ahead of Euro 2024 this summer, when he’ll hope to be part of Gareth Southgate’s plans.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest column for the Daily Briefing, Romano explained that Juventus also showed an interest in this deal a while ago before deciding against it due to the cost and due to also preferring to target a different style of midfield player.

Romano also explained that Crystal Palace were interested, as publicly announced by Eagles manager Roy Hodgson, though in the end their offer was not as good as the one made by West Ham.

Hammers fans will surely be pleased with this deal, which should be completed imminently, if Romano’s latest details are anything to go by.

“A deal is finally done for Kalvin Phillips to join West Ham – a big ‘here we go’. He was previously on Juventus’ list before they left the conversations because it was too expensive and Massimiliano Allegri preferred a different kind of midfielder,” Romano said.

“West Ham are now closing the deal, despite links with Barcelona – it was never a priority for them, and West Ham have now done incredible work to beat the competition to this deal. Phillips joins on loan with a buy option, not mandatory. It’s done, he’ll travel to West Ham for medical tests today.

“Phillips was always a top target for West Ham, since day one. They’ve been silent as there was huge competition but Tim Steidten was crucial to make the deal happen and it’s been agreed. Crystal Palace were interested, as Roy Hodgson admitted publicly, but in the end West Ham made a better proposal.”