Celtic are believed to be close to signing Nat Phillips on a season long loan from Liverpool.
A report by Michael Grant in The Times appears to fit the profile of the type of player that Brendan Rodgers needs added to his squad.
Phillips spent part of the 21/22 season on loan at Bournemouth where he made 17 appearances as they earned promotion back to the EPL after a second season in the second tier.
Back at Liverpool he faced fierce competition for a place with Virgil van Dijk at the front of the queue for places.
Phillips made 20 Liverpool appearances during the 20/21 season, holding off the challenge of Ben Davies who was signed from Preston but failed to make a single appearance for Liverpool. Davies had been strongly linked with a move to Celtic but went to Anfield at the end of the transfer window.
In mid-afternoon The Times reported:
Celtic are closing in on a move for the Liverpool centre half Nat Phillips.
The 26-year-old is being considered for a season-long loan as Brendan Rodgers attempts to strengthen his defensive options because of a recent injuries. Phillips is 6ft 3in and has been described as a “monster” in the air by the Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp.
There doesn’t appear to be any clear obstacles to a deal being completed, Phillips could be quickly up the M74 and training with his new team-mates as Rodgers assesses whether he could be involved in the squad for Ibrox on Sunday.
CLICK HERE for Phillips’ Soccerbase profile.
Is there any chance of a loan deal for Eric Dier?
I think he’d be a terrific answer to our current defensive problems.
Now were talking this is a very good centre half if we get him he will go straight into Glasgow derby now just get a left back we need badly most moves are slowed down on the left maybe its because of jota gone but we need more speed of pass and taylor passes back 98 percent of the time i know most teams park the bus so you have no forward pass on or if there is need confident player to pass it taylor confidence gone but at ibrox the home team will have to attack cause there support demand it but beale will not go all out he will press Celtic cause they play from the back have no target man to punt ball upto so if Celtic play through the press there in own goals if they go all out what there supports want that be playing into Celtic hands thats why id play tohm instead of off turnbull even tjough McGregor is off the boil he will have a man marker on him beale has done that every game after celtic beat them by 4-0 so its up to McGregor to run him into ground they have a hard game on wed against psv a team that likes to knock the ball about holding possion they make ateam chase the ball for 90 mins and our left back has to keep tavoner on the back foot where he is funrable
Great signing if we get him. He was superb for Liverpool when they were hit with injuries a couple of seasons back and is unlucky not to have got more game time since. Good in the air and is comfortable enough on the ball and quick enough to bring the ball out into the opposition half in the way that Ajer often used to. If he can repeat that form for us, I just hope there’s an option to buy. I might even forgive his dad, Jimmy, for playing for the DeidCo all those years ago. Or maybe not….
Slipping back into taking players on loan.
They get all that experience, they go back and their parent Club get all the benefit of that and we get nothing.
It’s one step forward and three steps backwards.