Nathaniel Phillips has accepted he won’t play much for Liverpool and has admitted to looking for a January exit and play elsewhere regularly.
Despite the injuries to key defenders last season, Liverpool managed to finish in the top four after stitching together a decent run of results in the final stretch. A large part of those results were due to Jurgen Klopp’s faith in some of the youngsters, with Nathaniel Phillips especially earning his stripes in the process.
Phillips played 17 times in the Premier League to help Liverpool secure Champions League qualification. However, in the current campaign, he is yet to play a single match in the division due to the returns of several first-team stars. The centre-back was tipped to depart Anfield in the summer but stayed put in the end.
Now, though, it is clear that Phillips will not be selected ahead of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez; so, the young central defender might be well off changing clubs. Klopp also recently ruled out a January exit for Gomez, which might open the door for Phillips to depart.
There is significant interest in the defender, with West Ham United mooted as a possible destination. Liverpool are reportedly open to selling Phillips outright in January if a bid of £10 million arrives. Newcastle United have also been mentioned in the chase, although the Hammers might be a more attractive club to join on current form.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Phillips has admitted he needs to leave Liverpool in the next transfer window to play regular football. The central defender accepts he will not play much under Klopp this season, and it would be best for his development to leave the club.
Phillips said, “I want to be playing games. It’s been tough because the competition to get in this team is fierce. The manager and I agree that the best thing for me is to play as many games as possible. I think you saw last year I developed well. I’m going to see what comes along [in January] and go from there.”
“I think at this moment in time, it’s unlikely that I’ll be playing lots of games for Liverpool, so if an opportunity arises where I get the chance to do that somewhere else. It suits everyone, so it’s certainly something I’d be interested in.”
“I’ve had the exposure and experience in the Premier League and the Champions League. So maybe those situations where you’re new and nervy, I’ve gone through that phase. I don’t need to go through that process if I do go somewhere else. I’ll be ready straight away to get involved and play.”
Where Phillips ends up remains to be seen. For now, what appears to be certain is that Phillips will be better off leaving Liverpool rather than staying put and featuring sparingly for the Merseyside club.
