Nat Phillips surely has the lead in the defensive race at Liverpool. The 23-year-old put in a fine performance against Brighton.
Diogo Jota is a real success story at Liverpool this season. The Portuguese forward has climbed far above expectations to break into the Reds’ world-class attack.
His nine goals are carrying Liverpool towards a title challenge – and few could have guessed that when he joined.
But he’s not the only success story. Nat Phillips is looking like a genuine option for Liverpool going forward.
Surprise
Phillips wasn’t even supposed to be in the first-team squad this season. In fact, the Liverpool Echo reported just last month that the Reds could sell him.
But with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez out long-term, Phillips has found a place in the first-team squad. That’s quite a remarkable turnaround for someone who spent last season in Bundesliga 2.
Even more surprising, though, is that Phillips is becoming a surprise success story.
Phillips started against West Ham United before the international break and shone. Jamie Carragher had him down as Man of the Match, in fact.
But Phillips outdid himself once again vs Brighton yesterday. Statistically, he was phenomenal – as we covered here.
And so we can’t help but wonder how far he can go. Liverpool may well sign a defender in January, of course, but until then, Phillips has a real chance to establish himself.
We’d have him above Rhys Williams in the pecking order right now, for instance. And if Jurgen Klopp wants Fabinho back in midfield, Phillips is a really good option alongside Joel Matip for the time being.
The 23-year-old has a month to show how far he can go, then. And at the rate he’s going, Liverpool genuinely might not need a winter signing.
Phillips really is playing that well.
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