26y/o set to be added to Liverpool’s squad in January; Reds keen to get him in at Anfield – report

Liverpool are set to add to their centre-back options in January, according to reports on Saturday.

Football Insider‘s Wayne Veysey claimed this morning that Nat Phillips is in line to be recalled from his loan at Celtic next month, when the deal was due to conclude upon its initial agreement in late August.

The Reds are unlikely to trigger their option to extend it until the end of the season, with the 26-year-old’s parent club keen to get him back at Anfield as they search for central defensive reinforcements following Joel Matip’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

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Even if Matip hadn’t ruptured his ACL and Liverpool were well stocked for centre-back options, it might still have been advisable for the Reds to recall Phillips in January, considering his fortunes in Glasgow.

The defender has made just eight appearances under ex-LFC boss Brendan Rodgers at Celtic and was omitted from the matchday squad for today’s Premiership clash against Hearts, so the loan move hasn’t granted him the regular game-time that he and his parent club would’ve been craving.

By getting him back to Merseyside, Jurgen Klopp will have a readily available option to bolster his ranks in the centre of defence, although the manager is still likely to be eager for someone in that position to be signed next month to instantly challenge for a starting place.

Phillips has deputised commendably in the past during Liverpool’s time of need, most notably during the second half of the 2020/21 season, but at 26 and with little sign of him ever establishing himself at Anfield, his return should be viewed as a solution rather than the solution.

The ideal scenario would be to recall him so that we have adequate depth at centre-back and, if a reported target such as Goncalo Inacio or Piero Hincapie is brought in, maybe then the Reds’ hierarchy could look at another (more carefully considered) loan spell for the ‘Bolton Baresi’.

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