Michail Antonio revealed what Kalvin Phillips told his new West Ham team-mates about Kevin De Bruyne after joining on loan from Manchester City.
Phillips moved to David Moyes’ side on a temporary basis until the end of the season last month, having found game time hard to come by at City.
The England international midfielder debuted from the start during the Hammers’ 1-1 draw with Bournemouth, before coming off the bench to play 19 minutes in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.
Phillips played 27 times for City since the beginning of last season, although was largely restricted to cameo appearances.
He will hope a move to the London Stadium will reinvigorate his career ahead of this summer’s Euro 2024, where he will hope to remain in Gareth Southgate’s thinking in terms of squad selection.
He will bring with him to London the 18 months experience he has had of training and playing with some of the top footballers on the planet – including none other than De Bruyne.
The Belgian’s absence through injury has been felt by City this season, shown by the fact he already has one goal and four assists to his name in five appearances – only two of those starts – since his return last month.
De Bruyne is one of the greatest midfielders in the history of English football, with Phillips certainly having learned a lot from the 32-year-old.
And speaking to Sky Sports, Hammers star Antonio, who has been out of action for over two months with a knee injury suffered on international duty with Jamaica, explained the one thing Phillips told all of his new team-mates about De Bruyne.
He said: “When Kalvin came to West Ham, the first thing I said to him is, ‘How good is Kevin De Bruyne really?’
“He went, ‘Outstanding. He sees passes that nobody else sees’.
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“He says all you need to do run and he will find you feet. When him and [Erling] Haaland are together, I see an assist!”
De Bruyne registered an assist during City’s 3-1 win over Brentford on Monday evening, passing to Phil Foden to score the second goal for Pep Guardiola’s side early in the second half.
Manchester United fans were quick to spot what Luke Shaw did immediately after Lisandro Martinez went down injured on Sunday.
Man United eased to an impressive 3-0 win against West Ham on Sunday, with Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho both on target at Old Trafford.
However, the win came at a significant cost for Erik ten Hag’s side as Lisandro Martinez limped off the field with a suspected knee injury.
The Argentine centre-back only returned from a four-month injury lay-off early last month, but when West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal landed awkwardly on his knee fans feared he had suffered a season-ending Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury.
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On Monday it was widely reported that rather than damaging his ACL, Martinez has sprained a medial collateral ligament in the knee.
While that’s relatively good news, a predicted eight-week absence represents a significant blow to United’s hopes of securing Champions League football next season.
Martinez is a fan favourite at Old Trafford, and it’s clear that he is a popular figure in the dressing room as well.
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Eagle-eyed United fans quickly spotted that as soon as Martinez went down in a heap, United teammate Luke Shaw immediately knelt down beside him to comfort him.
Replying to a tweet highlighting Shaw’s reaction, one fan said: “They know he’s the best player we have.”
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Another said: “Shaw went to him like ‘don’t leave me again brother’,” while one fan joked, “I would give him my leg.”
United have endured an underwhelming campaign after improving under Ten Hag last season.
One area of the team that has caused the most concern is defence, with the likes of Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans failing to convince while Martinez was unavailable.
United’s form has taken an upward turn since Martinez returned – they won three of the four games he featured in – but now Ten Hag will have to find a way to cope without the Argentine once again.
Old demons haunt Ten Hag’s new reign as Brighton shock Man United to win 2-1 at Old Trafford
Mason Greenwood showcased his scoring prowess once again, notching a goal from the penalty spot in Getafe’s clash against Real Betis last Sunday.
The 22-year-old Manchester United loanee calmly struck the ball to the left of the goalkeeper, securing his seventh goal of the season across all competitions.
The thrilling encounter at Benito Villamarin saw Getafe awarded a penalty just eight minutes into the game, and Greenwood confidently stepped up to give his team the lead.
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However, former Real Madrid star Isco later equalized with another penalty before halftime.
Greenwood’s LaLiga goal tally now stands at five in 18 appearances, earning praise from Manchester United fans on social media. One supporter even hailed him as a ‘generational talent,’ expressing excitement about his skills.
This achievement follows a recent controversial incident involving Greenwood and Jude Bellingham during Real Madrid’s derby victory.
Bellingham’s tackle on Greenwood led to speculation about him mouthing an offensive term, with an expert lip-reader suggesting a 97 percent confidence that the insult was directed at Greenwood.
Despite this controversy, Greenwood continues to impress on the field, leaving fans eager to see more of his talent.
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