Liverpool
Premier League • England
Liverpool agree next loan exit for Nat Phillips as Championship side get green light for medical
Nat Phillips is due for a medical at Cardiff City after his Celtic spell ended
Cardiff City are set to win the race ahead of several Championship rivals to sign Liverpool defender Nat Phillips on loan until the end of the season, sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk.
Liverpool have agreed a loan deal with Cardiff for Phillips and the player has been given permission to travel to Wales for talks and a medical.
Centre-back Phillips spent the first half of the season on loan at Celtic, but was recalled by Liverpool earlier this month after failing to play regularly at the Scottish giants.
The 26-year-old made only eight appearances during his time in Glasgow, including six in the Scottish Premiership, and Liverpool want to ensure he gets regular game time in the second half of the campaign.
Phillips is well down the pecking order at Anfield under Jurgen Klopp, with academy graduate Jarell Quansah recently establishing himself ahead of Phillips in Klopp’s plans.
That is on top of the existing obstacles presented by first-teamers Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez. Joel Matip would also be ahead of Phillips in the hierarchy if he wasn’t injured.
Phillips ready for Cardiff spell
The temporary move to Cardiff will be Phillips’ fourth loan move in five seasons after spells at Stuttgart, Bournemouth and Celtic.
He made more appearances for Stuttgart (22) but also enjoyed a productive time with Bournemouth, whom he helped win promotion to the Premier League.
For his parent club, he has made 29 appearances at senior level after coming through the academy setup.
Phillips’ contract with Liverpool is due to expire at the end of next season.
The Cardiff side he is set to join are currently 14th in the Championship, but just six points off the play-off places, which has to go down as progress after they avoided relegation last season because of Reading’s points deduction.
Other clubs to have been linked with Phillips included Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers, but we can confirm Cardiff are set to become the ones to welcome him.
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