You’re also missing your window to get a decent fee for Nat if he doesn’t go this summer. It obviously won’t be huge but £10-£12m now isn’t to be sniffed at given he’s not a long term option.
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Do Not want to see Nat go to Burnley (thread title)…
They play like animals there whilst he should remain a good honest professional.
Agree with this. I think if Nat did play for us for again, he will be more likely to be exposed as clubs have had the opportunity to prepare to exploit his flaws.
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Letting Davies go out on loan means that Phillips only leaves if the coaching and medical teams are happy with the fitness of VvD, Gomez, Matip and Konaté. Our 4 CB depth actually needs to be 4, not effectively 2 and a half.
If so, no problem with Nat being sold as we’re not going to get a better price for him and he’s not going to get better options.
What I don’t want to see is Fabinho back there. As good a CB as he can be, we need him in midfield. I personally don’t see any chance that R Williams gets used at CB in any meaningful fixture for us this year. I think Klopp would prefer to use Fabinho if it came to that. He should go out on loan.
As I say above, if Phillips is sold I hope that indicates our confidence in the recoveries of VvD and Gomez. May be one of the reasons he hasn’t gone anywhere yet as we could still be waiting on, say, Gomez to prove he’s ready?
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I think Williams came a long long way in the games last year and Williams from the end of last season was above Fabinho or Phillips (unless facing an opponent specifically set up to bombard us with aerial balls, which they won’t now they’re expecting to see VvD in our line up).
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That’s a bit of a distortion. I don’t recall a single league game where you can say he was preferred to Phillips.
Our midfield options were also stretched meaning that Fabinho in midfield with Thiago and Gini, and Phillips+Williams paired at CB was better than Thiago, Gini and AOC/Woodburn/Jones in midfield with Fabinho+Phillips paired at CB.
I think Rhys needs a loan, personally.
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I wouldn’t sell them a virus…to quote a virus
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I think he will go on deadline day or thereabouts. There’s been enough interest in him already and like Shaqiri he didn’t play in either of the Anfield friendlies. It could be that we’re waiting on the fitness of the other CBs but more likely holding out for the best possible fee. I just hope we’re not too greedy. I’d have no problem with him staying but I think he’ll be pissed off if he misses out on a move to a PL club. He deserves a PL wage after everything he did for us last season.
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Klopp picked Williams ahead of Phillips for Spurs at Home, and chose to use him off the bench before Phillips for West Brom at home as well.
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And then promptly started Phillips ahead of Williams when Matip was out. It seems the exact opposite trajectory to the one argued by @AnfieldRdDreamer. Williams began the season more favoured than Phillips but by the end of December Phillips was preferred, a situation that remained until the end of the season (and remains now, I expect).
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I got the feeling Klopp gave them both an equal chance to stake a claim, then pretty exclusively stuck with Phillips.
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I didn’t get that feeling at all. Nat was particularly overlooked. Williams got a chance to get some experience at the high levels demanded at our club. Nat got the nod because he had the experience to rough it out (something I feel Klopp and/or his coaches over looked at the start). When it came to the crunch Nat’s roughing it out was more important particularly for the WBA abd Burnley matches.
My take is Klopp rates them both equally. Both have significant limitations in their game and their selection was tactical.
If aerial threat Nat would more than likely be selected. By rotating the limitations of both was less exposed.
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I think it had more to do with who was going to partner with them. When Virgil/Matip were healthy, Klopp preferred Rhys’s athleticism and speed because he trusted Virgil to handle the physical tasks and guide Rhys through the match. When Virgil and Matip were hurt, Klopp needed a more physical, experienced, and mature presence, which is where Nat came into play.
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…and then went and bought Konate 
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Wait… Rhys did really well for us but… Speed?
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Realistically, it was more difficult to sell him because he also didn’t play regular football (or any football) for almost a year now. A loan was probably always the more realistic option + revive his market value and then hopefully sell him in the summer.
Done
Would love it if the loan clause has a purchase option if promoted etc.