Forget Wijnaldum: 70k-a-week man has given Liverpool a tougher contract call to make

Georginio Wijnaldum liverpool — Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

With all the fuss being made over Georginio Wijnaldum’s contract situation at Liverpool, it’s easy to forget there’s another issue bubbling under the surface involving Nat Phillips.

The centre-back’s contract is up this summer, and his situation looks to be even more complicated than Wijnaldum’s.

Indeed, with Wijnaldum the decision on whether or not to offer him a new deal is simple. He’s earnt the right to stay on and a new deal has been offered.

However, when it comes to offering Phillips a new contract things are a little more complicated and there are a number of factors to add up.

Firstly, Phillips earns a surprisingly high wage if reports are to be believed, with Spotrac stating that he’s on £70,000 a week, which sees him earn more than bona fide first-team stars such as Andrew Robertson.

That’s a lot of money for a player who only made his Premier League debut this season at the age of 23, and with Ben Davies and potentially Ozan Kabak joining the likes of Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip as senior centre-halves at Liverpool, he’s bound to slip back down the pecking order.

Nathaniel Phillips of Liverpool. — Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images

However, he’s done a stellar job when he’s been called upon this season. He’s earned plaudits for his showings at centre-half and he’s been a reliable backup.

Therein lies the problem Liverpool have when it comes to deciding on his future.

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Phillips is a good player, there’s no doubting that, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to be Liverpool’s first, second or even third or fourth choice at centre-half going forward, so it’s hard to justify handing him a new deal on the wages he’s currently on.

Then again, it would be incredibly harsh to let him go after his good service this term, so perhaps a new deal could be on the cards.

You can probably see the conundrum that Michael Edwards is having to deal with here, both options have pros and cons when it comes to Phillips’ contract and it’s an almost impossible call to make.

We certainly don’t envy Liverpool in this situation.