Well done. Hopefully we get a bob or two for him.
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In terms of his actually talent yes heās League One/Championship standard. He does have an ability to maximise his talent which may make a low Premier League team move for him, his mental qualities are pretty good, but heās a lot more limited than Klavan or Skrtel.
Donāt get me wrong, Iām complimenting him when I say that he has no right to be anywhere near our squad yet heās done OK when heās played. Itās a tribute to his mentality and mindset that heās able to do that but I still judge him to a different standard than everyone else because heās not the same quality as the rest of the squad.
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That I canāt imagine his contract running out because he signed a ālong term contractā before he went on loan.
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I must have missed that, youāll have to shout louder. Well noticed! 
and as said thatās could be a few more pounds in the bank.
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Wouldnāt be unusual if we didnāt give him a 5-year deal by default. Itās not the same situation like with an Elliott or even a Grujic. I bloody hope we didnāt at least. He was seconds away from leaving last summer. Doesnāt sound incredible that nobody bought Nat Phillips and he found himself with 12 or 24 months on his Liverpool deal. I just hope itās not too much on his deal and we can easily sell him this summer.
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Heās being damned with faint praise by many because heās the most basic of basic CBs and I donāt think that sits easy with some people. Itās just undeniable that heās done fantastically well since heās come in even allowing for the low expectations everyone will have had.
Of course he could do a job at a PL club. Leicester won the PL with Wes Morgan and Robert Huth as their CB pairing so, yes, in the right set up heād be OK. Whether he would have the same motivation and therefore performance levels if he went somewhere else is the question. I get the impression that this is a guy who thought his big chance had gone, had been written off and yet has somehow (amazingly) ended up getting into our first team. A bit like Robbo when he got his chance heās giving it everything. You can see the adrenaline pumping by the way he throws himself into those headers. Yes, he may not be here next season and Iām sure his first big mistake will be pounced on by those who are vocal in reminding us how poor he is, but if the rest of the team had shown the same amount of commitment and effort that this lad has this season then I donāt think weād be halfway down the league right now.
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I agree, Itās probably the best we have for now, leave Fabinho where he is best in midfield and even when Henderson comes back, midfield is his place.
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Exactly how I see it. 
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Letās not re-invent history thoughā¦ This team only moved forwards from a transitional counter attacking one to the one which dominated world football (for 12 months) by moving on ālimitedā defenders and bringing in elite level ball playing ones like Matip and Van Dijk (added to Gomez who already had the raw ingredients).
Iād personally listen to Sweeting as he has watched more youth level football than probably the entire forum combined. So heās not coming at this from small glimpses of Phillips.
This isnāt aimed at you in anyway but Iām not sure why people canāt discuss and disgree without all the barbed digs. Everyone gets entrenched onto a view incredibly quickly.
Is Phillips a limited defender? Yes
Did he play very well last night? Yes
Is he Maldini re-incarnated? No
Has he got the raw skills to play full time here? Probably not
Is it worth giving him another year to see if he is a late developer? 100% yes for me, he is only 23 after all, despite looking like heās done several tours of Vietnamā¦
Long may he continue to play like Maldini though!
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Good pĆ“st but this ā¦
Connor Coady had more to offer and was āallowedā to go and that was the correct decission for both club and player. Nat is getting his chance due to very extreme circumstances but if he wants a carreer in football needs to drop down a level or 2 and then weāll see. As soon as one of our main CBs is back heās out the team. We bring in 1 CB this summer even if not we have this Davies chap, VVD, Gomez and Matip Nat would struggle to get into our league cup squad let alone playing in it. Just get a few bob for him this summer if possible, surely even he and his management can see thatās the way to go.
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That would be up to Phillips, I think since Christmas heās done enough for me to warranty us giving him that option, vās it not even being on the table at the start of the season.
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Itās always the players option hence my last comment, if they have a contract they have the choice just like Gini, except we know at least Klopp would have kept Gini, Cann ā¦
I would see it as a silly/stupid decission if Nat got offers and he refused to leave but yes he has that right.
EDIT: Btw heād have to make the squad at his age though the lack of English/home grown players might make that easier.
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Nathaniel Phillips has punched above his weight. I think he will end up with a Premier League team that plays with deep defence.
Not the greatest compliment, but I think guys like Fat Sam will adore such static, immovable, defender.
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Bolton Baresi
Thatās some genius banter.
Ali covers that header on the bar, he also came out for one near the end, to be honest if anyone was lucky last night it wasnāt our back line.
RBL arenāt slouches but we dealt with most of it, if you are restricting them to very little which we did I think they need credit.
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I for once agree with Flobs I think this is what our defenders are coached as it happened with Gomez, Matip & Lovren, they all have followed their man if they drop into midfield. Not certain I always agree with this tactic, as it needs the other defenders to be switched on to quickly close the gap, which down our right, doesnāt happen.
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If Nat wants to stay, Iām in favor of keeping him. I donāt trust Matip and Gomez to stay healthy, and the jury is still out on whether Kabak or Davies will stay beyond these next two months. Not to mention Koumetio, Williams, or van den Berg as longterm options. Ideally, weād come back next season with 4 quality rotational CBs (Virg, Gomez, Matip, Kabak/Another Signing) and keep Phillips as a fifth choice option who would likely get some game time in the domestic cups and as the inevitable injury replacement for Maitp/Gomez.
But Nat might want to be a first choice CB at a lesser club. Thatās his prerogative.
I reckon itās pretty unfair to call someone who hasnāt put a foot wrong for us as someone with ālimited abilityā. If he kept making mistake after mistake then yeah but heās been faultless so far. Surely we donāt expect him to be Iniesta with the ball at his feet. Klopp has mostly signed defenders who can attack and attackers who can defend. In Nat he has a proper old school no nonsense defender. He looked like prime Chiellini out there with his head wrapped in bandages throwing himself into challenges. Long may it continue.
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Youāve got it all wrong, mate. He doesnāt have the stats. Forget his actual performance and our results when he plays- on paper heās shite, therefore he is shite.
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