Cardiff, Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United keen on deal for out of favour Liverpool player | OneFootball

A trio of Championship clubs are interested in striking a deal for Liverpool defender Nat Phillips ahead of the transfer deadline on February 1.

Phillips, who has Premier League and UEFA Champions League experience for the Reds, has recently returned from a half-season stint with Celtic, where he played just eight times and wasn't in matchday squads for the final few weeks of his time north of the border before heading back to Anfield.

The 26-year-old's next destination though could be the second tier of English football, where he has already played in his career with AFC Bournemouth in the 2021-22 season, helping to push the Cherries over the line and back into the Premier League.

Cardiff and Blackburn want Liverpool defender, Leeds also interested

Lewis Steele of The Daily Mail has reported that Leeds United have Phillips shortlisted as one of their many centre-back options that they have been looking at recently, but more serious interest has emerged from both Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers, who are both looking to bolster their back-lines.

Promotion hopefuls Leeds have been linked to a whole host of different defenders this month, including Welsh quartet Neco Williams, Chris Mepham, Connor Roberts and Ben Davies, whilst unfavoured Everton man Ben Godfrey is also said to be on the Whites' shortlist.

Phillips has also made his way onto what is becoming a long list for Daniel Farke now, although it remains to be seen how strong their interest is considering the amount of defenders that have been linked to Elland Road.

But the stronger interest appears to be coming from both Cardiff and Blackburn, who are desperate to add to their thread-bare squads before the February 1 transfer deadline.

Bluebirds boss Erol Bulut has become frustrated with the lack of activity at his club as the end of the window approaches, and with no senior centre-backs in reserve for their most recent defeat against Plymouth Argyle, Cardiff have targeted Phillips as a potential option.

So have Blackburn, who lost James Hill back to AFC Bournemouth and also saw Hayden Carter hobble off against Huddersfield Town at the weekend with an injury.

Jon Dahl Tomasson has wanted more experience in his defence since the summer when he tried to bring Danny Batth to Ewood Park, and now Phillips is being targeted as the final week of the transfer window approaches.

Blackburn may be in pole position due to Liverpool relationship

At this point, Phillips will just want game-time after having a pretty poor time of things under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic, and many Championshop clubs would no doubt like to sign the 26-year-old.

Blackburn though may just have the advantage due to their past dealings with Liverpool, which has seen both Tyler Morton and Harvey Elliott start their senior development at Ewood Park.

Elliott really shone for Rovers and it gave him the platform to immediately jump into Jurgen Klopp's plans, whilst Morton was a tad more inconsistent but is now playing very well for Hull - Phillips isn't at an age where he needs to develop but with regular football, he could be one of the top defenders in the Championship.

Liverpool will likely want a big wage contribution to let Phillips go, but if it's game-time that they want to prioritise, then Tomasson could get his wish of an experienced defender.