Newcastle United felt that Kalvin Phillips had ‘gone stale’ at Manchester City, when they weighed up potentially signing him from the Cityzens in January, according to the Daily Mail.
Phillips, who had fallen out of favour at the Etihad, was repeatedly linked with a move to Newcastle in the winter window.
The England midfielder ultimately completed a loan switch to West Ham United however, where he has struggled badly.
Phillips was on the pitch on Saturday as Newcastle mounted a thrilling comeback to beat West Ham 4-3.
His struggles at West Ham appear to have justified Newcastle’s decision not to sign him and it is claimed the Magpies felt he had gone stale at Manchester City, not least due to a lack of game time.
Boss Eddie Howe also had a number of doubts about signing Phillips.
The loan deal was an expensive one for West Ham to do and so far Phillips has made seven appearances in the Premier League for West Ham, with a number coming as a substitute, as was the case at St James’ Park.
Phillips, who has hoped the move to West Ham would secure him a spot with England at Euro 2024, is set to return to Manchester City in the summer but looks unlikely to have a future under Pep Guardiola.
