The rule that restricts a player to playing for only two clubs a season can be a bit prohibitive if a youngster goes out on loan.
It’s not uncommon to see someone make a couple of appearances at the start of the season before going out on loan. If that loan spell doesn’t work out, it can leave them back at their parent club with nowhere to go until the start of the next season.
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It looks like Liverpool have found an interesting way around this for Nat Phillips, after they announced he would be recalled from his loan spell at German side Stuttgart next month, and it sounded like he would be going into the first team:
We have reached an agreement with Stuttgart for Nat Phillips to return from his loan spell in January.
Phillips will return at the beginning of next month and be eligible for Reds matches, starting with the FA Cup tie against Everton.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 27, 2019
A report from The Liverpool Echo has looked at some comments made by Jurgen Klopp, and it sounds like he isn’t going to be sticking around the first team for long. Initially that sounded like it wouldn’t be the best thing for his development, but there is a long term plan in place.
The report states that he’s only being brought back as cover for a few matches in January, before going back to Stuttgart on loan for the second half of the season. The German leagues are currently going through their Winter break so it actually makes sense for him to come back for a few weeks.
It’s not a scenario you see very often, but it’s good thinking from Liverpool and it could catch on with some other clubs too.