Liverpool have recently asked about signing £45m player who’s like a ‘brother’ to Jude Bellingham

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Liverpool are stepping up their transfer activities as they prepare for the January window.

The Reds have been linked with a host of midfielders over the winter, with the aim of solidifying their plans in defensive midfield.

One of the players regularly rumoured to be on their radar is Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips. And according to 90min this weekend, Liverpool have made a recent ‘enquiry’ over the 27-year-old’s availability.

The focus of the report is largely on Newcastle United, who are claimed to be ready to ‘firm up’ their interest in Phillips.

A move to play under Eddie Howe said to be ‘appealing’ to the England international, with the Magpies reportedly ready to pull the trigger on a loan move in January.

However, it’s claimed that a whole host of other clubs retain an interest in Phillips as well, with Liverpool among this group. From City’s point of view, they’re said to be willing to sanction the former Leeds United man’s exit, but would only agree to a loan if it came with a purchase option.

Liverpool still in Phillips mix

If you polled Liverpool fans on whether they want Jurgen Klopp to sign Phillips, the answer would likely be overwhelmingly negative.

Had a similar poll been ran when the midfielder left Leeds for £45m in summer of 2022, the outcome may have been different.

But since moving to City, Phillips has barely played. He may have won an obscene amount of titles in Manchester, but he hardly contributed anything to them.

Unable to convince Pep Guardiola of his qualities, it says a lot that the City manager recently even publicly admitted that he’d be open to selling Phillips to Liverpool.

With the Reds once again breathing down his team’s neck in the Premier League, that really shouldn’t be the case.

As a short-term solution to provide an option in defensive midfield, he may be somewhat fine. But given the amount of football he’s missed over the past 16 months, Phillips would likely need a while to get up to speed. Consequently, Liverpool shouldn’t really be anywhere near this.

It would be good to see Phillips move away from City and he’s wasted at the Etihad and is undoubtedly a decent player. One man who can see his ability is England teammate Jude Bellingham. The Real Madrid superstar referred to Phillips as his ‘brother’ on Instagram during the October international break.

When he does break free of Pep’s shackles though, it shouldn’t be to land at Liverpool.