Derby County have strengthened their defensive options by signing Liverpool’s Nat Phillips.
Phillips, 27, joined the Rams on a season-long loan from the Premier League club.
The tall centre-back, who has 29 appearances for Liverpool’s first team, is Derby’s eighth signing of the transfer window.
Ben Osborn, Kayden Jackson, Jerry Yates, Kenzo Goudmijn, Ebou Adams, David Ozoh, Rohan Luthra, Jacob Widell Zetterstrom and Tawanda Chirewa were this summer’s earlier arrivals.
Nat Phillips In Profile
Phillips began his career in the youth divisions at Bolton Wanderers before joining Liverpool in 2016 after a successful trial stay.
He went on to become an important component of the Reds’ youth system, gaining experience at the heart of their Under-21s backline in Premier League 2 during the 2016/17, 2017/18, and 2018/19 seasons.
Phillips impressed then-Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp during a series of pre-season training camps before signing a new contract with the Reds ahead of the 2019/20 season.
He went abroad on loan for a season to get match experience with German second-tier team VfB Stuttgart. Liverpool briefly recalled the defender midway through the season due to an injury problem, and he made his debut for the Reds against Everton at Anfield.
After playing the entire 90 minutes in a 1-0 victory over the Toffees, Phillips returned to Stuttgart for the remainder of the 2019/20 season, where he made 22 appearances.
The centre-back rejoined Liverpool for the 2020/21 season, where he appeared 20 times in all competitions, making his Premier League and UEFA Champions League debuts and scoring his first professional goal in a 3-0 victory over Burnley.
Phillips appeared three more times for the Reds in the first part of the 2021/22 season before going on loan to Sky Bet Championship side AFC Bournemouth, where he appeared 18 times in the second half of the season as the Cherries won promotion to the Premier League.
He returned to Anfield for the 2022/23 season and appeared five times in all competitions, including starting the Reds’ Carabao Cup Round Three match against Derby.
Phillips went back out on loan twice during the 2023/24 season in pursuit of more match minutes. He spent the first half of the season in Scotland with Celtic, where he featured eight times as they won the Scottish Premiership, followed by an 18-game return to the Championship with Cardiff City.