There are now less than three weeks to go in this summer’s transfer window, and still a couple of loose ends to tie up for Liverpool.
One of those ends is, once again, Nat Phillips. The big centre-back had looked for all the world like he’d be on his way out of Liverpool for good. But now, his immediate future has again been thrown into doubt after injury to Ibrahima Konate.
As a result of Konate’s lay-off, Klopp has suggested that Phillips may now be kept on as fourth choice. But with as much as £10m on the line for Liverpool, Klopp does have another option.
Step forward Sepp van den Berg. The Dutchman is still with the first-team after a productive pre-season. van den Berg has been attracting plenty of loan interest it must be said. But with a spot in reserve now a real possibility, it could be the right time to give him his shot.
Konate puts a spanner in the works
Unfortunately, we’re looking at things here without the knowledge of how long Konate will be missing for.
Given that it was a knee injury, it could feasibly be months rather than weeks, though. However, when confirming the injury, Liverpool reported that the Frenchman would miss ‘the beginning of the season.’
Now, that could mean anything. But reading between the lines, hopefully Konate will be back sometime in the Autumn.
That will leave just a couple of months for whoever steps in to make their mark. As fourth choice, it’s unlikely that whoever that is will get too many chances to do so.
As a result, it doesn’t make all that much sense to keep Phillips around. He reportedly has plenty of interest in his signature, and could land The Reds a very healthy profit.
For him to stay on just to get a handful of appearances doesn’t feel justified, not when there’s a quality young player in reserve.
van den Berg showing he can be counted on
For van den Berg, he would surely get more football if he were to join any of the reported four teams interested in him. But it would also be great experience for the 20-year-old to be a proper member of the first-team squad over an extended period.
Should things go smoothly with Konate’s recovery, van den Berg could then head on-loan in January.
As Liverpool have found with Phillips in the past, it can be tricky to move a player on for a good fee in the middle of the season. A loan is a different story.
Judging from his pre-season appearances, van den Berg is a different player to the one who left in 2021. He was ‘excellent’ at Preston last season and deserves the chance to show what he’s learnt.
For Phillips, it’s time Liverpool cut him loose. He’ll turn twenty-six during the season, he needs to find a proper home. A decision needs to be made one way or another in the coming weeks, let’s see what Jurgen opts to do.
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