Bristol City boss Dean Holden has admitted that the Robins will be in the market for ‘three or four’ players in different positions, something that is written about here in more detail on The72. They are already after Steven Sessegnon from Fulham and now have been linked by The Athletic to Liverpool youngster Nat Phillips.
23-year-old Phillips has been on the books at Anfield since being snapped up on a free transfer from Bolton’s Under-23s at the start of August 2016, a club that he’d been at since he was 9.
Of course, with the talent that is both around him and in front of him, at the Merseyside club, Phillips has found it hard to make a breakthrough into the first-team picture.
As such, he’s made just one appearance for Liverpool (above), featuring in this season’s 1-0 FA Cup win over local rivals Everton. The rest of this season has seen him out on loan in Germany where he helped VfB Stuttgart gain promotion back to the 1.Bundesliga after featuring in 19 games for them.
The Athletic’s James Pearce says (Athletic’s transfer tracker – September 2) that Liverpool are mulling over a number of possible loan and permanent deals for Phillips and that the youngster isn’t part of Jurgen Klopp’s plans. Pearce also writes that Bristol City “are hoping that the promise of regular action in the Championship” will help in their quest to bring the Liverpool youngster to Ashton Gate.
Bringing in Phillips, what with his promotion experience in Germany and regardless of it being a permanent or loan move, will be one measure that Holden can take as he looks to rebuild Bristol City in his own image.
