Liverpool centre-back Nat Phillips has left the club on another season-long loan, this time joining Derby in the Championship. This move comes after a failed attempt to sell the long-serving defender, who was the subject of a £4 million bid from Turkish side Trabzonspor earlier in the summer. However, Liverpool turned down the offer and set an £8 million price tag for Phillips.
Despite being made available for a permanent transfer throughout the transfer window, Liverpool struggled to attract interest in the 27-year-old centre-back. As a result, Phillips has now secured a deadline-day loan move to Derby, marking his fifth temporary move away from Anfield. He has previously had loan spells with Stuttgart, Bournemouth, Celtic, and Cardiff. His most recent move to Cardiff saw him make 18 appearances in the Championship.
With this loan move, Phillips aims to improve on his previous performances and have a full campaign with Derby under the management of Paul Warne. It has become clear that Phillips has no future under Liverpool’s manager, Arne Slot.
Liverpool’s current options at centre-back include Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, and Jarell Quansah, with Joe Gomez also expected to be considered in that position after a brief flirtation with a summer transfer. The Reds sold Sepp van den Berg to Brentford in a deal worth up to £25 million earlier in the window, leaving 17-year-old Amara Nallo as the next in line.
Nat Phillips joined Liverpool from Bolton in 2016 and has since played a valuable role at the first-team level. He notably formed an emergency centre-back partnership with youngster Rhys Williams during the 2020/21 season. However, like Williams, who has also been sent out on loan to Morecambe in League Two for the summer, Phillips’ future lies away from Merseyside.
We wish Nat Phillips the best of luck in his loan spell with Derby and hope he can continue to develop as a player during his time there.