Celtic have officially announced the signing of defender Nat Phillips from Liverpool on a short-term loan deal.
The Scottish champions are taking Phillips to Scotland on a temporary basis until January when all parties will then assess the worth of his staying on in Glasgow.
Celtic have been badly struck by injuries in recent weeks with Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh all on the sidelines for months. With Carl Starfelt also leaving, it left Brendan Rodgers in a really tricky spot.
The manager sounds really pleased to have landed Phillips, telling the official club website: “We’re delighted to bring Nat to Celtic and we’re looking forward to working with him in the months ahead. It’s been well-documented that it’s an area of the team we needed to look at in the short-term due to a number of injuries we have experienced, and so we’re pleased that Nat will provide that defensive support in the squad.
“Nat arrives with the experience of having played for another huge club in Liverpool and those experiences will serve him well here at Celtic. I know that he’s delighted with this move and is looking forward to working with the rest of the squad here.”
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old defender added: “I’m really excited. When I heard about the interest it was one that got me excited. There were a few other options that didn’t quite make me feel the same as this one did, so I was really keen to get it over the line and I’m delighted to be here now.
“It’s the history of the club. It’s such a huge club, the club’s aspirations, the level it competes at, the fact that they’re in the Champions League this year and the mentality of the club – they want to be winners in everything they do.”
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Phillips has made 29 appearances in total for Liverpool, having also spent spells out on loan at Stuttgart and Bournemouth over the years. If nothing else, his arrival does help the ongoing injury issues.
Given the nature of the deal, not too much will be expected of him on his switch to Glasgow. We need a steady performer who has experience and the defender ticks those boxes. If he hits the ground running, there’s every chance for him to earn a longer-term stay, too.
In other news, Celtic’s total summer spend after Luis Palma deal with more on the way.