Defender Nat Phillips is set to return to Liverpool from Celtic in January having failed to tie down a regular place in Brendan Rodgers’ team.
That is according to The Athletic, who reports that the centre-back will go back out on loan again for the second half of the season once he has returned from the Scottish club.
The 26-year-old centre-back joined the Scottish Premiership giants as cover on a short-term basis in August following a defensive injury crisis in Rodgers’ squad.
However, Phillips has found his opportunities limited with eight appearances (four starts) for the Glasgow club in all competitions and the arrangement is not expected to be extended beyond the end of December.
Phillips has been at Liverpool since 2016 having joined the Reds’ academy and went on to make his senior debut in 2020. The 2020/21 was the defender’s best at Anfield as he helped the Merseyside club get through a centre-back crisis.
Ever since, regular minutes have been hard for the 26-year-old to come by. Phillips has spent time at Bournemouth and Celtic but both have not kept him on.
The centre-back will likely go on loan again in the New Year and hopefully, it is with a club that aims to bring him on board permanently at the end of the season.