Liverpool centre-back Nathaniel Phillips garnering interest from Bournemouth
According to The Liverpool Echo, Bournemouth have rekindled their interest in Liverpool Nathaniel Phillips, who spent the second half of last season on loan with the Cherries. The English defender, who is currently fifth in the pecking order behind Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, and Joe Gomez, has found it difficult to obtain any significant playing time at Anfield.
Phillips helped Jurgen Klopp during the 2020–21 season, when the Merseyside club finished third despite having an injured centre-back roster. The Liverpool academy graduate has a contract running until 2025, and he has only made 24 appearances for the club.
Although Klopp had praised the centre-back, it is unlikely that the 25-year-old will play a significant amount of games for Liverpool next season.
It has also been claimed that although Liverpool would be open to another loan deal, they had been planning on letting Philips go on a permanent basis for £15 million.
Phillips made 18 appearances while spending the second half of the previous season on loan with Bournemouth, which helped them gain promotion to the Premier League. Bournemouth manager Scott Parker would want to replace Gary Cahill and new additions would be necessary if the club was to compete in the Premier League.
Early in the summer, Bournemouth had been the front-runners to re-sign Phillips, on a permanent basis, but that interest waned off. But now that they are low on defenders, Phillips’ well-known skills might tempt them.
Even though Jurgen Klopp would be content to maintain him as a fifth-choice centre-back option, Liverpool should prefer a permanent deal over a loan because they believe it is fair to the player.
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With only three young centre-backs on their roster—Lloyd Kelly, Chris Mepham, and James Hill, a move to Bournemouth would be an ideal option for the Cherries, who are in need of another defender.
