Liverpool have officially confirmed that defender Nat Phillips will be returning to the club in January from his loan spell with Stuttgart.
Twitter: We have reached an agreement with Stuttgart for Nat Phillips to return from his loan spell in January.
Phillips… https://t.co/5oUo0MHLBH (@LFC)
Phillips joined Stuttgart on a season-long loan in the summer, with Liverpool now opting to bring him back five months early due to their own injury issues. Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip are currently struggling with knocks, forcing Jurgen Klopp to bring him back.
The 22-year-old has been a regular for Stuttgart in the second division of German football, although he has never made a first-team appearance for Liverpool.
READ LIVERPOOL VERDICT
It appears to be a wise move by the club given the injury issues they have had at centre-back this season. Phillips has enjoyed some games for Stuttgart in Germany this term, which will have been an invaluable experience for the youngster. Hopefully he can now put that to good use for Liverpool, if Jurgen Klopp needs to throw him in at any point in the second-half of the season.
He has never played in the Premier League, or any top division, so there is no telling if he is ready to compete at this level. As nice as it would be to see another academy player shine, it would be ideal for Matip and Lovren to regain fitness and their best form and for Phillips to learn from them in training, rather than him playing in their place.
