Liverpool have been synonymous with expert navigation of the transfer market over the last decade, though have developed a worrying tendency of allowing saleable stars to leave for free.
The likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino all left without Liverpool recouping fees last summer.
Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara were also allowed retained in the final year of their respective contracts and the pair left Liverpool at zero cost on June 30.
Furthermore, superstar trio Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have entered the final 12 months of their deals. Losing all or even just one of those high profile players to free agency would represent bad business in the extreme.
Another – albeit lesser heralded star – now in the final year of his contract is centre-back Nat Phillips.
Liverpool have long been open to selling the 27-year-old who has only ever featured at Anfield during times of injury crisis.
Phillips spent last season on loan at Celtic and then Cardiff City. He returned to Merseyside last week where the subject of his sale has now become a priority.
Liverpool want £8m as Turkey transfer looms
Liverpool hope to recoup around £8m through Phillips’ exit. Ipswich Town and German side Mainz have been credited with interest, though according to Fabrizio Romano, a move to Trabzonspor is in the works.
Trabzonspor placed third in the Super Lig last season and finished runners-up to Besiktas in the Turkish cup. Per Romano, a transfer to the high-flying Turkish side is now a “concrete possibility.”
“Nathaniel Phillips to Trabzonspor is a concrete possibility,” Romano told his Playback channel.
“Yes, Trabzonspor are negotiating for Phillips, it’s a concrete possibility… waiting for the player to decide, also.”
A subsequent update out of Turkey claimed Trabzonspor have seen an opening bid rejected.
Precisely how much the offer was worth wasn’t made clear, though is was stated it was under €5m/£4.25m.
Liverpool’s hope will be Trabzonspor return with a more satisfactory second bid. Either that, or the Reds will hope Trabzonspor’s interest prompts other potential suitors to table bids of their own.
Phillips rarely put a foot wrong during his rare outings in a Liverpool shirt, though having been handed just 19 league appearances since debuting five years ago, it’s clear to see he doesn’t feature heavily in their plans.
The Reds have previously attempted to sell Phillips on numerous occasions. A high £15m asking price had dampened interest, while untimely injuries to established Liverpool centre-halves had also forced the club to abort potential moves.
But with just one season left on his deal, the time to cash in and allow Phillips to feature regularly elsewhere is right now.
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