Talks have opened between Liverpool and Bournemouth over a permanent deal for Nat Phillips this summer.
That’s according to The Daily Express, who claim that The Cherries are keen on retaining the centre-back next season, with Liverpool in talks to sell.
The Reds will reportedly bank around £8m for the sale of Phillips. This is on top of the £1.5m loan fee they secured in January and a further £250,000 paid following The Cherries promotion to the Premier League.
The 25-year-old instantly became a starter upon joining Scott Parker’s side for the second-half of the season. His 17 appearances contributing to a return to the top-flight.
Phillips leaving Anfield once and for all
Phillips was always going to be one name on Liverpool’s ‘outgoing’ pile at the end of the season.
The centre-back had been expected to leave last summer, but Liverpool couldn’t find a buyer to match their £15m asking price.
That scenario was played out again in January, too. Eventually Bournemouth swooped in to take Phillips for a temporary spell.
Having made himself a key man for Parker, and with the club’s promotion secured, it’s hard to see why Phillips’ valuation would have dropped so dramatically.
Liverpool should be looking for more
If anything, Liverpool could perhaps reasonably expect to increase their asking price based on his performances.
Should an £8m sale be completed, Liverpool would secure £9.75m for Phillips including loan fees and bonuses. This is still a decent return on a player who almost left for peanuts two years ago. But given his current standing, it sounds a little light.
At twenty-five, he isn’t the youngest anymore. He now has Premier League, Champions League, Bundesliga. 2 and Championship experience though, and has excelled wherever he’s been.
Maybe there’ll be an element of goodwill involved. Phillips was brilliant for Liverpool in 2020/21 – Klopp called him ‘exceptional’ via liverpoolfc.com last year – but he is now far down the pecking order at Anfield. Recent reports even suggest that Rhys Williams could now have jumped ahead of him.
Phillips’ career could stagnate if Liverpool price him out of a move again. Maybe the club have decided to allow Phillips the chance to settle in Bournemouth and kickstart his career once and for all.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
