Liverpool will be looking for a big transfer fee if they are to allow Nathaniel Phillips to leave the club this summer.
That’s according to the Liverpool Echo. They claim that Phillips’ long-term deal for The Reds means that the quoted fee for any interested parties will be ‘sizeable.’
The 25-year-old, who has made eight appearances for Bournemouth since joining on transfer deadline day in January, has three years to run on his current deal.
The Echo claim that Bournemouth are ‘likely’ to be interested in securing the centre-back on a permanent deal.
Priced out of a move
Liverpool want to be careful with slapping too high-a price-tag on Phillips’ weapons-grade forehead.
The Reds were reportedly looking for around £15m for him in the last two transfer windows.
That may have felt like a fair price for a relatively young English player with decent Premier League experience. But no offers that Liverpool felt were acceptable were forthcoming.
The Athletic reported that Liverpool rejected an offer of around £7m for Phillips in January. After dropping down to play in the Championship for the second-half of the season, it may be that that figure is a more realistic one to expect.
Hope of a reprisal at Liverpool
However, with Joe Gomez’s future far from certain, there may still be an unlikely reprieve for the man they call ‘the Bolton Baresi.’
Gomez is reportedly looking for a way out of the club this summer (90min). Having dropped to fourth-choice centre-back this season, the 24-year-old has only started one Premier League game in 2021/22.
If the England man were to leave the club, Jurgen Klopp has a ready made replacement in Phillips.
The manager is clearly a big fan of the player who joined the club in 2016. After Phillips helped Liverpool advance to the Champions League quarter-finals last year, Klopp called him ‘absolutely incredible’ via liverpoolfc.com.
If Gomez does stay and fight for his place, then Phillips is clearly surplus to requirements. After failing to secure a move last summer, the 25-year-old stayed on as fifth choice for the first-half of this campaign.
In five months of football, he only started one game. The fact that that one game was an excellent performance in San Siro, featuring a phenomenal penalty box Cruyff Turn only served to show that he is wasted filling that role for Liverpool.
Let’s hope that Liverpool can find a solution that suits everybody this summer.
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