Report: Stuttgart want to sign Liverpool defender Nat Phillips on loan again

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German newspaper Bild have claimed that second-tier side Stuttgart are keen to sign Liverpool defender Nathaniel Phillips on a second loan spell this season, after impressing in his first season with the club.

Phillips, 23, joined Liverpool in the summer of 2016 and remained a prominent figure in the club’s reserve side. However, last summer he looked to gain first-team football and he opted to join Stuttgart on loan for the 2019-20 campaign.

The centre-back has played 19 times for Stuttgart this season, but was recalled in the January window in order for Phillips to make his Liverpool debut – helping the Reds beat Merseyside rivals Everton in the FA Cup, which saw Curtis Jones score.

He rejoined Stuttgart immediately after his Reds debut, and now the defender is wanted by Stuttgart again. The report claims Stuttgart are exploring whether the Reds will allow Phillips to go back to the German club on loan again next season.

TBR’s view – Has Phillips played his last game, and only Liverpool game?

Phillips impressed against Everton but four years after initially joining Liverpool, a loan back to Stuttgart might signal that he has played his last ever game for the Reds – even if it was his only Liverpool outing.

That is because Phillips is out of contract at the end of the 2020-21 campaign. Should Phillips join Stuttgart on loan for another season, he will return when his contract expires – surely suggesting he will not play for Liverpool again.