Roy Keane slams ‘sluggish’ Kalvin Phillips as West Ham nightmare continues at Manchester United

Kalvin Phillips’ nightmare start to life at West Ham United continued in the Hammers’ 3-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Phillips’ loan move from Man City to West Ham was one of the biggest moves of the January transfer window, with the 28-year-old keen to cement his place in England’s EURO 2024 squad.

The former Leeds United man had struggled for game-time at the Etihad Stadium but walked straight into the West Ham starting XI under David Moyes.

But Phillips got off to a nightmare start on his debut, as his loose pass gifted Bournemouth forward Dominic Solanke the opening goal in their 1-1 draw in midweek.

He came on from the bench but was at fault again in Sunday’s 3-0 loss at Manchester United, as he was caught in possession just inside his own half by Scott McTominay, before he slid in Alejandro Garnacho to kill the game off.

Roy Keane slams Kalvin Phillips

West Ham’s defeat saw Manchester United leapfrog them into sixth place in the Premier League table and Phillips’ performance drew the ire of Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane.

“Phillips, the way I look at it, he is sluggish and you are going to get punished,” Keane said. “McTominay does really well with a nice weight of pass. 3-0 and the attackers are back in good form.

“We can make excuses for him [Phillips] but he has come at it at the wrong angle. He has tried to shield people but credit to McTominay who is nice and aggressive. Game over.”