Jurgen Klopp stood in the way of a deadline day move for Nat Phillips, with the defender staying at Liverpool despite being on the verge of joining Benfica.
The centre-back spent the second half of last season on loan at Bournemouth after struggling for game time with the Reds. Klopp considered giving Phillips a second loan with the Cherries after their promotion to the Premier League, but changed his mind on the 25-year-old.
Benfica also pushed for a season-long loan, with experienced defender Jan Vertonghen leaving the Portuguese club over the summer. However, Klopp opted to keep Phillips amid injury concerns at Anfield, which have already forced the German to hand the defender his first Premier League minutes in more than a year.
Phillips played just three times for Liverpool last season, with his only start coming against AC Milan in the Champions League. This term, though, he has already been called into Premier League action with a start against Crystal Palace in August, playing more than an hour of the 1-1 draw as fellow defender Joe Gomez made his own return from injury.
Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip's early-season injuries meant the former Bolton Wanderers youngster was effectively Liverpool's third-choice centre-back behind Virgil van Dijk and Gomez. A return for the injured pair before January could prompt Klopp to sanction a mid-season departure.
Phillips has played outside England before, spending time on loan at Stuttgart as they were promoted from the 2. Bundesliga during the 2019-20 season. He earned a surprising amount of game-time at Anfield the following season, when Van Dijk, Gomez and Matip spent extended spells on the sidelines.
Does Phillips have a long-term future at Liverpool? Have your say in the comments section...
Phillips and fellow academy graduate Rhys Williams were singled out for praise by Klopp ahead of the Champions League final last season. While neither featured in the knockout rounds (and Williams has been sent out on loan to Blackpool this season), their involvement in the league the previous season helped the Reds qualify for the competition.
"I messaged Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips because we wouldn’t be there without them," Klopp told Sky Sports ahead of the defeat by Real Madrid. "I remember the final game of last season and they left the pitch with a bandage around the head, cuts on their faces, and that was really a symbol for the whole period.
"We went through on one leg, with one eye… it was incredible. It was such a tough season. Hopefully nobody forgot how hard we fought to get here. We felt it mentally. The public wasn’t shy of telling us that we underperformed and all these kind of things."
