According to the Evening Standard, West Ham United are interested in signing Nat Phillips from Liverpool.
West Ham could certainly do with some reinforcments at centre-half in the January window. After all, Angelo Ogbonna is out of action for the foreseeable future, while Kurt Zouma is also set for a spell on the sidelines.
Phillips certainly knows how to cover for an injury crisis – he did so expertly at Liverpool last term when Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk all went down with long-term problems.
Interestingly, one of Phillips’ first and best performances last season came against West Ham, and after that game he was given a lot of praise by Graeme Souness.
What’s been said?
Souness was full of praise for Phillips after his showing against the Hammers last term.
“The manager now knows that he can deal with Premier League football. Ok, he didn’t have the most testing time against Haller. I’m trying to think, there was one unforced error he made when he tried passing into midfield which was a little bit careless, but other than that, he was faultless,” Phillips said.
“He’s now proven he can play in the Premier League, and they may need him depending on how bad Fabinho’s injury is. We know that Virgil van Dijk is gonna be out for a period of time. You just never know what’s round the corner in football, and when you’ll get an opportunity.”
Perfect option
West Ham need a player to come in and help them out in the midst of an injury crisis, and there may not be any option better than Phillips.
The Englishman showed that he can do a job at centre-back for Liverpool last season on a short-term basis and when the time came for him to drop back down the pecking order, he did so with minimal fuss.
Phillips is a quality player who is brilliant in these emergency situations, and this is a player that West Ham should certainly be going after.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
