Nat Phillips will enter the final year of his contract at Liverpool this summer and the club are fielding “strong interest” in a permanent move to the Championship.
It has been erroneously reported that Phillips will be out of contract on July 1 and instead the 28-year-old’s deal does not expire until 2026.
However it is clear that there is no future for him under Arne Slot, and after a strong campaign out on loan with Derby the expectation is that he will be sold.
According to The Athletic‘s Gregg Evans there is already “strong interest” from a number of clubs in the Championship – and namely West Brom.
West Brom finished ninth last season having seen two permanent managers leave, and already this summer they have appointed Ryan Mason as their new head coach and released long-serving centre-back Semi Ajayi.
Phillips has been earmarked as a possible addition as the West Midlands side push for promotion to the Premier League next term.
Derby have also made their interest clear when it comes to signing Phillips on a permanent deal, with head coach John Eustace saying he would like to keep him “for sure.”
There is no indication at this stage how Liverpool will value their No. 47, but last summer they turned down a £4 million offer from Trabzonspor as they instead pushed for £8 million.
It has continued to be the case that the club have priced themselves out of a sale for a player who was handed a five-year contract back in 2021.
That deal came after Phillips’ instrumental role in helping secure Champions League football against the odds in 2020/21, forming a solid partnership with academy graduate Rhys Williams when all of Jurgen Klopp‘s senior centre-backs were out injured.
But it had always been clear that neither would be long-term options and the decision to hand the pair new deals – Williams is also contracted to 2026 – has been criticised as overly loyal.
Liverpool will, however, have banked significant fees in sending Phillips on loan to Bournemouth, Celtic, Cardiff and Derby since he put pen to paper four years ago, including £1.75 million alone from Bournemouth in 2022.
A large portion of his wages will also have been covered during those spells, but on a human level Phillips will benefit more from a finding a long-term home.
While seven academy players will depart on the expiry of their deals at the end of June, Liverpool are also likely to consider deals for the likes of Calvin Ramsay, Owen Beck, Luke Chambers, Fabian Mrozek, Kaide Gordon and Luca Stephenson.
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