‘Is he even a Premier League player?’ – Graeme Souness and Alan Pardew clash over West Ham’s Kalvin Phillips

Graeme Souness thinks Kalvin Phillips still has to prove he is a Premier League player.

The England midfielder, who joined West Ham on loan in January from Man City, has had the worst start to London life possible.

In his first start against Bournemouth, he gave the ball away for an easy goal with one of his first touches, and in his second against Nottingham Forest he was sent off.

Phillips joined City from Leeds in 2022 for £42million, but it’s fair to say it hasn’t worked out, with just 31 appearances to his name and some heat between himself and Pep Guardiola.

However, it seemed like little surprise that West Ham were so keen to land Phillips, given his form for England which saw him named the Three Lions Player of the Year in 2021.

Discussing the deal, former Hammers manager and talkSPORT host Alan Pardew said: “They sold off a couple of flair players and then brought in Kalvin Phillips but he just hasn’t worked out. 

“He got sent off at the weekend, he’s struggling to find himself and hasn’t had any gametime.

“I personally think he’s a terrific player, whether it was perfect for him to go to West Ham I don’t know because it’s just not working out.”

Those comments triggered a response from co-host Graeme Souness, who isn’t so convinced about Phillips’ quality

“Is he a Premier League player? Why do you say that?” Souness interjected, with Pardew referencing Phillips’ England form.

“England play Mickey Mouse games most of the time, they’re joke games,” he added.

Pardew continued: “I personally thought at the time it wasn’t the right move for West Ham, but I still think he’s a very good player.”

Souness wasn’t finished though.

“You can’t say he’s a very good player but it’s the wrong move for West Ham,” he said. 

“I think he’s played circa 65 games in the Premier League, he was at Leeds, comes up, one season in the Premier League and gets a big move to Man City, that’s on someone’s opinion, they quickly realise ‘he’s not what we thought we were getting’ and the moved him on. 

“For me he’s still to prove that he’s a top player in the Premier League.”