Liverpool defender Phillips joins Bournemouth on loan

Jason Soutar
Liverpool defender Nat Phillips during a warm-up

Liverpool defender Nat Phillips has joined Championship side Bournemouth on loan until the end of the season.

It was revealed by Sky Sports on Monday afternoon that Phillips was close to signing for the Cherries on a temporary basis.

He has been linked with numerous sides in recent months due to his lack of playing time under Jurgen Klopp this campaign.

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The 24-year-old impressed for the Reds last season while they were without injured defensive trio Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.

Phillips played 17 times in the Premier League during the 2020/21 campaign. He has fallen down the pecking order this term though.

He has only started one game this campaign. That came in the Champions League group stages against AC Milan.

With game time scarce, the centre-half has joined Bournemouth for the remainder of 21/22, Liverpool confirmed on deadline day.

This is the second loan of Phillips’ career after he spent a whole season with German side Stuttgart in 19/20.

He had also been linked with moves to Burnley, West Ham, Newcastle United and Brighton.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are planning to swoop for Serie A pair Paulo Dybala and Milan Skriniar, according to reports.

Juventus forward Dybala – valued by Transfermarkt at £45m – will be available on a free transfer come the summer, while Skriniar – valued at £58.5m – has 18 months left to run on his Inter Milan contract.

Tuttomercatoweb (via Sport Witness) claim Liverpool are planning a ‘mission to Italy’ once the January transfer window has closed, to hold talks over ‘concrete moves’ for the pair in February.

‘Emissaries’ from Liverpool are ‘expected to arrive’ in Italy next month to ‘establish contacts’ with Dybala, who is now free to negotiate with suitors ahead of a summer move.

The Reds are also set to initiate contact with Skriniar and his representatives, with the Inter ‘mainstay’ set to enter the final year of his Nerazurri contract come the summer.

Liverpool Nat Phillips