Report: Nat Phillips will be free to leave Liverpool in the summer  

Nat Phillips will bid farewell to Liverpool and be free to look for another club in the summer according to a new report.

The big central defender may have only played 29 times for the Reds, but in that time he has become a true fan favourite for his whole hearted displays.

Never was this more evident than in the pandemic impacted season of 2020/1 when Jurgen Klopp was down to the bare bones when it came to central defenders, and turned to the unheralded former Bolton Wanderers junior and Liverpool academy graduate.

While no trophies were won during that season, Phillips along with youngster Rhys Williams won a special place in the hearts of Reds fans for their phenomenal efforts in helping Liverpool clinch a top four spot.

At the time, Jurgen Klopp waxed lyrical about the pair.

“These two boys, playing like that, it is incredible, absolutely incredible. That was a proper crash course in a Premier League education, and they have learned so much.  It’s a sign for all our kids at Liverpool in the academy. It’s possible - it shows it’s possible...just work hard.

“These boys they are obviously not skilled like crazy, they had to work incredibly hard. And now they are proper, proper Premier League players.“

While first team opportunities have been scarce since that season, Phillips has continued to carry himself with incredible professionalism and performed to his optimum level when called upon.

His departure has been mooted numerous times, there was a feeling that Bournemouth would make a loan deal permanent at the end of the 2021/22 season but that was not to be.

Phillips has also been linked to the likes of Brighton, West Ham and Newcastle after his body of work was duly noted but again nothing eventuated.

But with a restructure of the squad seemingly on the cards for the summer, The Athletic (per The Mirror) report that the club will do the right thing by the 25 year-old which will give him the opportunity to become a regular at another club.

There will always be a market for a physical defender who has made the powerful clearing header fashionable in recent seasons, and when Phillips does find a new home, you sense that there will be no one happier than those associated with the club as they will only want the best for him.