According to sources who spoke to Football Insider, Liverpool plans to call up centre back Nat Phillips from Celtic in January.
The 26-year-old arrived at Parkhead on a four-month loan agreement in the summer transfer window, with the possibility to extend his stay for the entire campaign.
Phillips is scheduled to return to his parent club in the new year, and Liverpool is not expected to exercise that option.
At Celtic, Phillips has had difficulty making a name for himself under former Reds manager Brendan Rodgers.
Just eight appearances in all competitions have the Bolton-born stopper made for the Hoops, with just half of those coming as a member of the starting eleven.
The last time Phillips played was last week (10 December) in a 2-1 Scottish Premiership loss to Kilmarnock.
He is reportedly eager to return to Liverpool, who are looking for a center-back backup after Joel Matip’s season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Although they have also struggled with fitness issues this season, Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate are viable options in the middle of the defence.
At the senior level, Phillips has only made 29 appearances for the Reds, the most of which occurred in the 2020–21 season.
During that season, the 26-year-old and Rhys Williams were added to Jurgen Klopp’s senior squad as emergency backups due to Anfield’s injury crisis.
He has a contract with Merseyside that expires in June 2025.
Liverpool leads the Premier League after 16 games, one game ahead of their Sunday (17 December) matchup with Manchester United.
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