Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips admits England coach Gareth Southgate had a big say on his move to West Ham.
Phillips' loan has endured a disastrous first fortnight with the Hammers, including Sunday's 6-0 home defeat to Arsenal.
He recalled to the Guardian: I spoke to him about a few teams.
Juventus were there. I think they were going to leave it until the last minute. I mentioned Newcastle, which could have been a possibility. I knew that West Ham would probably come in a bit later.
He told me that he wasn't going to tell me what to do but he said the Premier League is a lot more difficult, a more competitive league. He said to be playing in the Premier League versus playing anywhere elseit's just that little bit of a step down in quality. So, yeah, he influenced me to stay in England."