Nat Phillips speaks out over Liverpool situation after Ibrahima Konate signing and Virgil van Dijk return

Nat Phillips speaks out over Liverpool situation after Ibrahima Konate signing and Virgil van Dijk return

Liverpool Echo Sports·2021-09-18 18:00

Nat Phillips is ready to fight for his first-team place and repay Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for his faith.Former Bolton man Phillips made 17 Premier League appearances last term and scored his first senior goal for the club in a 3-0 away victory over Burnley back in May.Liverpool's first choice centre backs returned in pre-season and new signing Ibrahima Konate was brought in for £36m, which has pushed Phillips back down the pecking order this season.He attracted plenty of attention in the summer transfer window and many expected the defender to move on before the August 31 deadline.But instead, he was rewarded for his contributions last season with a fresh long-term contract until 2025.Phillips said: "I had a bit of time left on my deal and the club havent hung around in extending it, which I think is recognition for last season from them. READ MORE: 'I don't want to be like Liverpool' - Pep Guardiola defends Man City fan comments"Its a massive boost for me and a really nice feeling. It gives me extra motivation to try and get in the team and repay that faith."Phillips made his senior team breakthrough last season amid a defensive injury crisis that saw Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip sidelined for the majority of the campaign.The 24-year-old helped the Reds to a third-place finish, which secured Champions League football this season.Phillips had two loan spells in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart prior to his promotion to the first team and they were moves manager Jurgen Klopp played a huge part in.Sign up to our free LFC newsletterGet all the latest Liverpool breaking news, team news, transfer rumours, injury updates plus analysis of what's next for the Reds.You'll also get the latest transfer talk and analysis straight to your inbox every day with our FREE email newsletter.Sign up here - it only takes a few seconds!"The manager, for me personally, has been such a big help in every aspect he possibly could have since I got into the first team," Phillips told The Metro. "Years ago, when I was trying to get a loan move away from the club to get matches, Stuttgart came to fruition for me because the manager wasnt satisfied with the other options that came up and he went out of his way to sort the situation out."He has always done his best for me."Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated Articles

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