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‘Would be a perfect replacement’: Pundit says 27-year-old would be absolutely ideal for West Ham if Rice goes
Darren Bent believes that Kalvin Phillips would be the absolutely perfect replacement for Declan Rice at West Ham, but admitted that he would not leave Manchester City if he was the England star.
Bent was speaking on as it appears increasingly likely that Declan Rice will be leaving the London Stadium in the coming days (via ).
Rice signed off in the perfect way by lifting the Europa Conference League trophy in Prague. He will depart with David Moyes’ men set to return to the Europa League. And his exit will see West Ham receive a huge boost to their transfer kitty.
Bent thinks Phillips would be perfect for West Ham
How they replace the 24-year-old however, is going to be crucial. It is potentially an opportunity for the Hammers to move forward. But it could also go the other way if they get things wrong in the transfer market.
For Darren Bent, the ideal replacement would be Kalvin Phillips – though he does not think that Rice’s England teammate should look to leave the Etihad Stadium this soon.
“I’ve heard a few people talk about maybe someone like Kalvin Phillips. I would think that would be a perfect replacement,” he told .
“But if I’m Kalvin Phillips, I’m not leaving Manchester City this summer. Absolutely not. I’d give it one more year.”
If Rice leaves and West Ham make a move for Phillips, he is surely going to have a tricky decision to make. Of course, he will not want to be seen to be throwing in the towel with City.
He has played his part in the treble. But he will be the first to say that he has not played as much as he would have liked. And he will feel that he has a major point to prove.
But if his pathway looks set to remain blocked at City, the chance to be a key man at West Ham is surely going to be incredibly tempting at this stage of his career.