Virgil Van Dijk was impressed with the defending of fellow centre-back Nat Phillips during Liverpool training yesterday.
As seen on LFCTV’s Inside Training video, Van Dijk praised Phillips for his defensive work during the small-sided games.
“Well done Nat,” shouted the 31-year-old from the touchline as he watched his younger teammate play.
Good to see the big man lending his encouragement to a player who has become something of an afterthought over the last few weeks.
Phillips somehow still a Liverpool player
It’s easy to forget that Phillips is still a Liverpool player as we head into the final week before the season begins.
The expectation had been that the 25-year-old would have been moved on by now. Whether that would be permanently or on-loan was to be sorted out, but that he wouldn’t be at Liverpool anymore seemed certain.
Instead, he is still training hard as he contemplates what comes next.
In all likelihood, he still won’t be at Liverpool by the time the transfer window closes in just over a month. The Reds have reportedly been asking for around £15m to sell him, and perhaps clubs are waiting until the end of the window come in with a lower offer.
Time to stick or twist for Liverpool
If clubs do come in for Phillips, Liverpool will have a decision to make. They’ve already allowed Rhys Williams to head out to Blackpool for the season. Sepp van den Berg is another who looks like he might move away, too.
Liverpool do have the burgeoning talents of Jarell Quansah to call upon, but he’s completely untested at senior level.
It may be a risk to head into the season with just four options at centre-back.
At the same time, Phillips shouldn’t be kept around on the off-chance that he might be needed. He needs to move his career on and Liverpool could gain a significant sum for him.
Van Dijk obviously rates him highly anyway. That should be a good enough endorsement for plenty of teams to step up their interest. Let’s see where this saga goes from here.
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