Kalvin Phillips details West Ham transfer decision after private Gareth Southgate talks

Kalvin Phillips believes West Ham are the perfect club to reignite the fire in his belly. The marquee 28-year-old January loan arrival is chomping at the bit having made just six starts in 18 months at Manchester City and now he hopes to fall back in love with football all over again. Phillips conceded: "I've probably lost that fire within me over the past 18 months. That's what I feel like. Don't get me wrong I still go into games and want to smash people, get stuck in and run about as much as I can. But when you've not demonstrated that in a game for so long you kind of forget what it feels like. It was only the other day against Bournemouth and [Manchester] United that I felt that feeling again." Phillips, who only stayed at City last summer because his childhood sweetheart Ashleigh was in the midst of pregnancy, wanted his Irons move so badly - he spent a week away from his partner and three-month-old baby boy Kaelo settling into his new Stratford apartment.

It should come as no surprise that David Moyes ' long-standing interest - having previously tried to sign both Phillips and Raphinha from Leeds - helped sway the highly-coveted midfield lynchpin as transfer rivals battled for his signature. The treble-winner added: "I think it was just the size of the club and the manager influenced me a lot. He told me he’s been after me for the last few transfer windows. I just felt like if I wasn’t going to play at City, I want to go to a club where I’m wanted. "Not that City didn’t want me but I wanted to go somewhere where the manager was really keen and where he really wanted me. It sounded like a really good group down here. I want to feel like I’m at home wherever I go." Phillips also consulted his England midfield partner