With Nat Phillips at Liverpool until at least January, reports have emerged of a lucrative loan offer for the 25-year-old at the end of the transfer window.
It was a busy summer for Liverpool, and one of those touted with a permanent exit before September 1 was Phillips, following a successful loan spell at Bournemouth.
The newly promoted Cherries were among the suitors for the centre-back, along with clubs from Germany, Italy and elsewhere in the Premier League and Championship.
But with Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez already suffering from injuries at one stage or another this season, and Ben Davies, Rhys Williams and Sepp van den Berg leaving permanently or on loan, Phillips has stayed where he is.
Liverpool’s No. 47 will serve as a fifth-choice centre-back, with Jurgen Klopp unwilling to fall short again following the 2020/21 disaster.
That meant turning down a high-profile loan offer from Benfica the day before the transfer deadline, according to The Athletic’s James Pearce.
Pearce writes that “it was an opportunity that Phillips would have relished”, with the Portuguese team offering Champions League football under a manager, Roger Schmidt, who had “admired [him] since his loan at Stuttgart in 2019/20”.
The offer was described as “financially attractive” due to a loan fee on top of the proposed salary contribution, but Liverpool chose to reject it.
Klopp is said to have “explained the situation” and his defender “accepted that position with the kind of professionalism that has made him such a popular figure in Kirkby”.
Liverpool received a similar offer from Southampton, which was also rejected, while Burnley was not of interest to Phillips and Bournemouth saw “multiple offers, both loan and permanent” denied due to injuries at Anfield.
While the former Bolton man has already made an appearance this season, starting in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, it’s hard not to sympathize with him after this update.
In May, Phillips admitted his wish was “to continue to play regularly, week in and week out, ideally in the Premier League”, which he will not be able to do at Liverpool.
Instead, he will cover Matip, Konate and Gomez alongside Virgil van Dijk, with sporadic appearances in the FA Cup and League Cup if necessary.
Turning 26 in March, he is not ideal for a player of Phillips’ caliber, particularly given the prospect of playing for Benfica, but he should be commended for his continued efforts with the Reds.
