LFC Daytrippers contributor Grizz Khan has been discussing Nathaniel Phillips after he played at centre-back alongside Joe Gomez during Liverpool’s recent victory over West Ham United at Anfield.
That was just the second appearance the 23-year-old has made for the first-team and according to WhoScored, his display earned him a performance rating of 6.91/10 which was better than that of his more experienced partner Gomez who was rated at 6.53/10.
When discussing the fixture, Khan focused specifically on Phillips and here is what he had to say with regards to the Bolton-born defender:
“Look, I’m not going to suddenly sit here and tell you that he is now our fourth-choice centre-back, he is now going to have a future at Liverpool – he’s not.
“He came in to do a job and I thought he done that job absolutely amicably.
“[He] was like a centre-back from the Championship, we need him just to do a job and I thought he [did] very well in that aspect.
“I’m not going to overly big him up because he may not play again for the Reds.”
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TIF Thoughts on Grizz Khan’s comments regarding Nathaniel Phillips…
Although the podcaster feels the defender did a decent job for Jurgen Klopp’s side at the weekend, based on what he has had to say, it’s probably fair to assume he is not convinced Phillips is somebody the boss can rely on over a sustained period of time.
However, Jurgen Klopp labelled Phillips’ performance against West Ham United as ‘incredible’.
Having lost Virgil van Dijk to a long-term injury, with the fitness issues Joel Matip continues to experience and the fact Dejan Lovren wasn’t replaced in the summer, in our view, Liverpool need to be looking to add in that position when the transfer window opens in January.