Neil Jones has stated that Nat Phillips “needs to start playing football” regularly and thinks he is likely to leave Liverpool in the summer.
The Bolton-born defender has been linked with a move away from the Reds for several seasons, but no such deal has ever materialized.
The recent injury to fellow central defender Ibou Konate, coupled with Virgil van Dijk’s hamstring problem, meant that Jurgen Klopp was unwilling to let our number 47 leave the club in January.
“Once again, it looked as though Nat Phillips would be leaving Liverpool before the transfer window closed. And once again, no move materialized, partly due to the injury sustained by Ibrahima Konate,” Jones wrote for GOAL.
“The centre-back has been regularly linked with a transfer away from Anfield in recent years, but for one reason or another he has always stuck around. Phillips, to be fair, never lets Klopp down, and he is a popular and respected member of the Reds team, but he surely needs to start playing football now.
“Nobody in Liverpool would envy him that.”
READ MORE: ‘In everyone’s best interest’: Neil Jones suggests the 24-year-old Liverpool star could leave as he seeks regular first-team football
The 25-year-old has a contract with the club until 2025 after signing a new contract 18 months ago and reports suggested the Merseysiders would have accepted offers in the region of £10-15m for the imposing centre-half had he not suffered. injuries. to other players in the position.
When Klopp has a fully-fit squad to choose from, Phillips is Liverpool’s fifth-choice central defender with van Dijk, Konate, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez currently ahead of him in the pecking order.
The Englishman has featured just five times for the Merseysiders this term (in all competitions) and has missed out on three of the last four matchday teams.
However, he performs well when called upon and, like Caoimhin Kelleher, Reds supporters would understand if he sought a fresh start and regular first-team football elsewhere.
Whatever the Bolton-born defender decides to do at the end of the season, we wish him all the best.
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