Newcastle know they dodged a bullet by not signing Kalvin Phillips

Newcastle’s decision to sign Sandro Tonali has badly damaged their season. Their decision not to sign another midfielder, Kalvin Phillips, may have saved it.

Both players continue to make headlines. One for gambling on football, the other for gambling on a career resurrection at West Ham. Neither are on to a good thing.

Where they differ is that the more Tonali is absent, the better a player he apparently becomes. For Phillips, the more he plays, the worse it gets.

When Newcastle lost their £52million marquee summer signing to a 10-month betting ban in October, they looked to the Manchester City outcast to fill the hole come January.

Eddie Howe had too many doubts and, despite the clubs discussing a loan fee, they did not pursue the deal. Phillips, you suspect, would not so much have filled the hole as fallen into it, so disastrous has his subsequent move to West Ham been.

Saturday was the latest sorry episode. When he came on with 21 minutes to play, West Ham were leading 3-1. David Moyes wanted to add an experienced head and fresh legs to his team’s resistance. Except Phillips is not as experienced as you’d think for a 28-year-old England international.

Before joining West Ham, he had made less than 50 Premier League starts. As for fresh legs, there was a fear at Newcastle they had gone stale at City. Indeed, what has emerged is a shadow of the player who starred for his country at Euro 2020.

Never was that more evident than here. In the 77th minute he conceded a penalty from which Alexander Isak made it 3-2. In the 83rd minute he was missing in midfield when Isak sent Harvey Barnes clear for 3-3. And in the 90th minute, Phillips failed to tackle Barnes on the edge of the area and the Toon man slammed into the bottom corner