Nat Phillips completes Liverpool loan departure but only on temporal deal

Nat Phillips has signed a four-month loan deal with Celtic, becoming the latest player to temporarily leave Liverpool.

The defender has been the focus of several clubs this summer as he played no part in Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies.

He joined the Scottish champions on short notice and will want to earn some regular football as he made just five appearances for the Reds last season.

Phillips’ loan will therefore be re-evaluated in January, suggesting he could be brought back to Liverpool should the centre-back’s injuries persist.

Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was appointed for a second spell as Celtic manager earlier this year and has enlisted the help of his former club to boost his defensive skills in Glasgow. After a violation of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh. Rodgers recently admitted that he had “easy” central defenders.

The beginnings of Phillips could even meet against the Rangers on Sunday, although it did not come back for a long time to train.

A permanent way of Anfield was considered a possibility for Phillips this summer, Leeds being interested in signing the central defender among the clubs.

Another championship team, Middlesborough, also entered the framework when they examined the possibility of a loan contract.

Phillips previously took loan spells with Stuttgart and Bournemouth for the ranks of young Reds from Bolton in 2016. Given the current lack of defensive cover and the fact that injuries are no stranger to current centre-backs, the move might raise some eyebrows among Liverpool fans.

Ibrahima Konate is currently absent, while Virgil van Dijk has been suspended following his red card against Newcastle.

Jarell Quansah has proven a contender for the senior side this season after impressing in the summer and making his first-team debut in a 2-1 away win at Newcastle.

Players like Fabio Carvalho, Sepp van den Berg, Calvin Ramsay and Rhys Williams are also spending the season on loan.

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Jurgen Klopp intervenes as angry Virgil van Dijk ‘insults’ officials over Liverpool red

Virgil van Dijk was sent off in a nightmarish first half for Liverpool against Newcastle.

Jurgen Klopp stepped in by seemingly pushing Virgil van Dijk through the tunnel after the Liverpool defender was sent off against Newcastle. Van Dijk has been sacked for the first time in his Reds career after bringing down Aleksandar Isak to deny a clear scoring chance.

The Dutchman was visibly angry with the decision and it took him some time before he walked off the pitch. He continued to yell at referee John Brooks, with Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville implying he was “insulting” the referee. Van Dijk eventually made his way to the touchline and continued yelling at the fourth official, sounding like he was cursing in his face. Liverpool manager Klopp then appeared to step in to prevent his experienced star from getting into further trouble.

Klopp gently nudged Van Dijk through the tunnel and away from the scene, where the defender clearly wanted to continue arguing his case against the fourth official. The German then continued to protest with the agents, risking being reprimanded.

Van Dijk’s red card came as part of a chaotic first half for Liverpool at St. James’ Park. Fellow defender Trent Alexander-Arnold narrowly escaped sending off in the opening six minutes.

The England defender was booked after three minutes for throwing the ball away after a decision he didn’t like – now considered a mandatory yellow card under guidelines given to referees at the start of the season. Moments later, the right-back cynically brought down Anthony Gordon.

Umpire Brooks only let an embarrassed Alexander-Arnold get away with a warning. But it was the English ace’s mistake that led Newcastle to open the scoring midway through the first half. Mohamed Salah’s poor pass proved too much for Alexander-Arnold to control, allowing Gordon to escape on goal. The former Everton winger coolly passed Alisson.

Newcastle then had the chance to make it 2-0. Isak collected Gordon’s pass and appeared to be one-on-one with Alisson, only for Van Dijk to bring down the Swede savagely.

Brooks had no choice but to show the 32-year-old the red card. Van Dijk will miss the match between Liverpool and Aston Villa next weekend, but his apparent abuse of the referee and fourth official could cost him an extended suspension.

Speaking of Sky’s match commentary, ex-Manchester United defender Neville said: ‘Now he’s abusing the referee. You just have to take your medicines and leave the pitch. We’ve all been there.’