AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool came to an agreement on transfer deadline day in January for a half-season loan move for 25-year-old defender Nat Phillips.
Could the two sides be in discussions again over the summer?
Phillips swapped UEFA Champions League appearances against Atletico Madrid and AC Milan to make the move to the south coast, making his debut in the 1-0 defeat to non-league side Boreham Wood in the FA Cup.
Thankfully for Phillips and the Cherries, things improved from that point onwards. Phillips made 17 Championship appearances, appearing on the winning side 9 times, drawing 6 times and losing just twice. A points per game return of 1.94, which was more than enough to clinch promotion to the Premier League by finishing 2nd in the Championship.
It was widely reported, including by the BBC, that Liverpool would receive a loan fee of £1.5million plus an additional £250,000 if the Cherries achieve promotion to the Premier League.
But what would a permanent or perhaps a full-season loan deal look like in regards to the finances? Maybe that’s a question for a few week’s time but on a personal level it is something that Phillips would appear content to consider.
Phillips told the Daily Echo…
“I’m so grateful that I made the decision to come here.
“I’ve enjoyed my time so much. It’s nice, one of the main reasons I came here was because we had that objective of promotion and something to play towards and it’s a great feeling to finish the season and achieve that.
“It’s been brilliant. I’ve loved every minute of it…”
Should AFCB sign Phillips again for 2022/23?
Yes
No
Unsure
Speaking about next season and a potential return to Dean Court, he added…
“…I can’t rule anything out. But ultimately it comes down to, it’s not just me.
“There’s various conversations that need to be had involving Bournemouth, Liverpool and whoever.
“So up until now we’ve been concentrating on just getting the job at hand done.
“Now that’s done, obviously Liverpool still have a few games left and a few big, important games left in their season to play. But we’ll see what happens in the summer.”
Your say…
Def_II_Royalz wrote…
Keep him! I can’t for the life of me see why anyone would be on the fence about this. Proven with Liverpool and played with more passion and commitment than some of our permanent signings. He definitely got better as the season went on. Can’t really think of anyone who’d be an upgrade on our budget. – Join the conversation, click here.
