The defenders performed admirably for the Reds last season, but both know first-team opportunities will be limited this time around
Swansea want to sign Rhys Williams on a season-long loan from Liverpool, butthe deal may hinge on whether any deadline-day offers arrive for fellow Reds defender Nat Phillips.
Liverpool believe Williams, 20, would benefit from a year in the Championship, but are yet to give the green light for the centre-back to complete his switch to South Wales.
As things stand, Swansea have made a formal offer to loan Williams for the season and the player is willing to make the move, but Liverpool also have Phillips on their books and are aware of growing interest in the 24-year-old from clubs at home and abroad.
What’s the situation?
Reds sources have insisted all summer that Phillips would not be loaned, but it appears that stance may have changed, with developments anticipated before tonight’s deadline.
Goal understands Phillips is eager to move, knowing first-team opportunities will be limited at Liverpool this season, but the Reds’ £12million ($16.5m) asking price has so far proven prohibitive.
Premier League clubs, including Brighton, Burnley and Newcastle, expressed interest earlier in the summer, while Leicester considered a bid before eventually signing Jannik Vestergaard from Southampton.
There have also been enquiries from clubs in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, with Phillips having bolstered his reputation when helping Liverpool qualify for the Champions League last season, despite one of the worst injury crises in recent memory.
Developments are expected in the coming hours, with the futures of Williams and Phillips, who played together for chunks of last season, seemingly tied together.
Any other business?
Young midfielder Jake Cain, 20, is set to join League Two outfit Newport County on loan for the season, and will possibly be followed out by both Luis Longstaff and Elijah Dixon-Bonner. Tony Gallacher, too, may leave the club on a permanent basis.
There have, as things stand, been no developments with either Sheyi Ojo or Loris Karius, both of who have been expecting to leave all summer.
Ojo has been playing with the Reds’ U23 side, while Karius is into the final year of his contract and hasn’t featured since the 2018 Champions League final.
It looks unlikely that there will be any incomings before this evening, with Liverpool set to end the window having added only Ibrahima Konate to their senior squad. Captain Jordan Henderson, meanwhile, has signed a new contract which will keep him at the club until 2025.
Be the first to comment