Transfer Deadline Days are all about sorting out departures for players in the squad who don’t have a role to play and for market opportunities to look at to bring into the squad in a bid to bolster it.
Liverpool are doing just that today.
News –Liverpool moved in to sign £54.6m DM, he’s now prepared to agree move to Premier League
Whilst there haven’t been any arrivals yet, one departure is set to take place imminently. As per reporter James Pearce, defender Nat Phillips is in Derby County to undergo his medical ahead of a simple loan move with no option or obligation to buy.
The £65,000 per week defender has a contract with Liverpool under 2026. He is 27 years old and has never really convinced enough to be given a first-team role at Anfield on a regular basis. Understandably, the club have decided to loan him out.
What this could mean though is that Joe Gomez is set to stay at Liverpool this season. We just covered a story also by James Pearce where he said that Gomez and Kelleher were training with the Slot’s squad today despite the exit rumors.
Should Gomez be on the verge of leaving as it seemed a few days ago amid Crystal Palace links, there is no way Liverpool would have sanctioned an exit for Phillips. It would have left Slot with just Van Dijk, Quansah and Konate as center-backs.
Between the two, Liverpool fans would any day take Gomez staying over Nat Phillips. The 27-year-old is a Kop favorite and as versatile as they come in defense, capable of playing anywhere across the backline and even in defensive midfield.
Nat Phillips on the other hand is securing a loan move to a club where he will get regular game time. He seems to have no future at Anfield and understandably so. Liverpool are unable to shift him out permanently but a good season at Derby could pique some clubs’ interest in him.
At this point, once Phillips leaves, the Liverpool squad would be more or less locked in terms of arrivals and departures. Unless something drastic comes up, Slot knows what he is going to work with and it’s time to get into the season.
