‘Perfect’: West Ham United told to sign 27-year-old to replace Arsenal-bound Declan Rice

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Anton Ferdinand wants West Ham United to sign Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips to replace the soon-to-be departing Declan Rice.

The former defender thinks Kalvin Phillips wouldn’t just be the ‘perfect’ replacement, but he would also be a ‘realistic’ transfer from Manchester City.

The 27-year-old only moved to the Etihad last summer from Leeds United, but despite Pep Guardiola’s side winning the Treble, he just played over 500 minutes in all competitions and now Ferdinand says he wants him at West Ham, as he told FIVE.

First thing is first, the player will have to express a desire to leave before the Hammers can even think about securing the talents of the 26-cap England star.

Yes, he hasn’t played much, but he might put it down to it being his first season and he might take a note out of Jack Grealish’s book, no, not drinking all night, but needing those 12 months before proving himself.

But it’s always worth knocking on the door and Ferdinand thinks, with a strong pre-season under his belt, Phillips could be back to his good old days at Leeds.

“I think we need to bring somebody in that would replace, Dec,” said Ferdinand. “Kalvin Phillips, I would take. I want him at my club. I am being realistic.

“He is at the best club, not just in the Premier League, but in the world now. When he was at Leeds, he was fantastic. I think the reason why he has had injuries and stuff, it’s because he isn’t playing.

“If he gets a good pre-season under his belt playing games properly, then I think he will be fine. But you can’t question his ability and what he has done when playing. That’s the best deal for West Ham. I just think he would be the perfect replacement.”

Could Rice re-unite with Phillips at Man City?

With all these suggestions that Phillips could replace Rice at the London Stadium, how about the duo re-uniting with one another at the Etihad?

For England, especially at Euro 2020, the duo had the tournament of their lives and really worked well together in the middle of the park.

And whilst Arsenal want to sign Rice, it has also been suggested that Man City are willing to bring him in, which would be a body blow to Mikel Arteta, as reported by The Guardian.