Nat Phillips lined up as potential successor to Joel Matip but Liverpool will only allow him to leave on loan

Nat Phillips will only be allowed to leave Liverpool on loan this summer because he is being groomed as a possible successor to Joel Matip.

The 25-year-old defender spent the second half of the season at Bournemouth, where he made 18 appearances in the Cherries’ promotion to the Premier League.

The Reds were reportedly considering selling Phillips because they had enough defensive depth in Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Matip.

According to The Mirror, though, Jurgen Klopp was impressed with Phillips’ performance at the Vitality Stadium and decided not to sign him.

Nat Phillips will only be allowed to leave Liverpool on loan this summer because he is being groomed as a possible Joel Matip successor.

The 25-year-old defender spent the second half of the season at Bournemouth, where he made 18 appearances and helped the Cherries gain promotion to the Premier League.

According to reports, the Reds planned to sell Phillips because Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Matip provide enough defensive depth.

According to The Mirror, Jurgen Klopp was impressed with Phillips’ performance at the Vitality Stadium and decided not to sign him.

‘It speaks a lot about him,’ Phillips told the Liverpool Echo. It was a wonderful surprise. It was also noted by a number of Bournemouth players.

‘It shows what he’s like as a manager and what he’s like to work for and why he gets so much out of the players because that is how he’ll treat you as a player and as a person.

‘It was a nice surprise and nice to know that he was keeping an eye out for what was going on at Bournemouth, even though he had such a big game of his own on his mind.

‘It was nice of him to mention me and Rhys (Williams) and give us a bit of credit for contributing to the journey.’