Derby County to seal Liverpool signing | OneFootball

Nat Phillips is expected to join the Rams

Derby County are set to seal the loan signing of Liverpool centre-back Nat Phillips as Paul Warne moves to strengthen his backline for the season ahead.

Phillips has been on the periphery of the Reds' first-team since he made the step up from their academy in 2018, and is set to add the Rams to the list of his recent loan spells at the likes of Stuttgart, Bournemouth, Celtic and Cardiff City.

Nat Phillips, Derby latest

The Times' Paul Joyce has reported that Phillips is set to move to Pride Park ahead of tonight's deadline, while The Athletic claim that the 27-year-old has been given the green light to undergo a medical in the East Midlands, and is due to spend the rest of the season with Warne's side.

The proposed deal will take him to the end of his current Liverpool contract, which runs until 2025, so it is also likely that he will be available on a free transfer next summer.

The Bolton-born centre-back has been the subject of persistent transfer interest in the last few months after some impressive showings at Cardiff last season, so his potential move can definitely be regarded as somewhat of a coup for the Rams.

He travelled with the Reds for their pre-season tour of Asia earlier in the summer, despite Football Insider reporting that he wanted to leave the club and that they were ready to accept offers for his services last month.

It was then reported by the BBC that Liverpool had rejected a bid worth about £4m from Turkish Süper Lig side Trabzonspor for the 27-year-old, and instead valued him at closer to £10m, so a proposed loan deal is certainly a surprise, yet welcome, outcome for Derby today.

Derby are simply aiming to stay up in the Championship this season after promotion from League One in 2023/24, and a signing like Phillips will definitely aid their survival attempts as boss Warne looks to shore up his backline in the dying embers of the window.

Phillips burst onto the scene at Anfield amid an injury crisis to Jürgen Klopp's side during the 2020/21 campaign, and featured consistently in both the Premier League and Champions League for the Reds that season, while earning cult hero status for his showings.

He has since found game-time hard to come by on Merseyside, but has impressed in loan spells at Stuttgart in the 2. Bundesliga, and at Bournemouth and Cardiff in the Championship.

The 27-year-old was an ever-present for Erol Bulut's side after his switch in the January window last season, and was thought to be open to a move back to the Welsh capital, but a move has not materialised, and he now looks set to join their second-tier rivals.

Phillips will likely become a long-term starter for the Rams this season if he does join, but will have to battle for places with the likes of Curtis Nelson, Eiran Cashin and Sonny Bradley upon initial arrival.