Nat Phillips the 'answer' to Celtic injury woes as Liverpool centre-back emerges as transfer target

Nat Phillips is reportedly on Celtic's agenda as Brendan Rodgers seeks out experienced defensive reinforcements.

Celtic have had to reorganise their defence already this summer and compensated for the departure of Carl Starfelt with the arrivals of Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki. But Nawrocki has already been sidelined with injury, as has key man Cameron Carter-Vickers and Stephen Welsh, leaving him light on options at centre-back.

That's left Rodgers looking for new blood in that position and The Times say they want to take Phillips on loan from Rodgers' former side Liverpool. The 26-year-old has been a peripheral player for the Reds in recent seasons with just 29 appearances in total, four of which came last season. He only started one league game – a 62-minute runout against Crystal Palace – and it's believed Jurgen Klopp is open to him leaving.

While Phillips has played less than 30 games for the Reds, he's also spent time on loan with Bournemouth and Stuttgart in the past and he has a reputation down south as a tough, no-nonsense defender. West Ham wanted to sign him last summer and he's under contract at Anfield until 2025, with Liverpool still hopeful of fetching a fee for him. .

It comes amid the news that Jonny Evans, previously believed to be of interest to Celtic, is set to extend his stay at Manchester United.

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