Nat Phillips

Last updated

Nat Phillips
Nat phillips.jpg
Phillips training with VfB Stuttgart in 2019
Personal information
Full name Nathaniel Harry Phillips
Date of birth (1997-03-21) 21 March 1997 (age 28)
Place of birth Bolton, England
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m) [1]
Position(s) Centre-back [2]
Team information
Current team
 West Bromwich Albion
Number 3
Youth career
–2016 Bolton Wanderers
2016–2019 Liverpool
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2019–2025 Liverpool 19 (1)
2019–2020 → VfB Stuttgart (loan) 9 (0)
2020 → VfB Stuttgart (loan) 10 (0)
2022 → AFC Bournemouth (loan) 17 (0)
2023–2024 → Celtic (loan) 6 (0)
2024 → Cardiff City (loan) 18 (1)
2024–2025 → Derby County (loan) 32 (1)
2025– West Bromwich Albion 3 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 August 2025 (UTC)

Nathaniel Harry Phillips (born 21 March 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion.

Contents

Phillips started his professional career at Liverpool, had two loan spells at VfB Stuttgart, before making his debut for Liverpool in 2020. After his Liverpool debut, he had further loan spells at AFC Bournemouth, Celtic, Cardiff City and Derby County.

Early life

Nathaniel Phillips [3]  was born on 21 March 1997 [4] in Bolton, Greater Manchester. [5]

Career

Early career

In 2016, Phillips left Bolton Wanderers' academy and trained at Huddersfield Town after he secured a scholarship at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. [6] Two days before his planned flight to the United States, he joined Liverpool's academy instead. [7] [8]

Liverpool

In the summer of 2018, Phillips started to train with Liverpool's first team and became a member of Jürgen Klopp's squad while still playing for the reserve team. [9]

VfB Stuttgart loan and Liverpool recall

In 2019, Phillips moved to German second-division club VfB Stuttgart on loan for the season. [10] [11] He made his professional debut for Stuttgart in the first round of the 2019–20 DFB-Pokal, coming on as a half-time substitute for Holger Badstuber in the away match against 3. Liga club Hansa Rostock. [12] Phillips made his first appearance in the 2019–20 2. Bundesliga on 17 August 2019 against FC St. Pauli. [13] On 27 December 2019, Liverpool announced that Phillips would be recalled from his loan on 1 January 2020 due to a defender injury crisis at his parent club. [14] Twelve days later, after making his first team debut for Liverpool on 5 January 2020 in an FA Cup third round match against Everton, he was loaned back to VfB Stuttgart for the remainder of the 2019–20 season. [15] [16]

Return to Liverpool

On 31 October 2020, Phillips made his league debut for Liverpool, starting in a 2–1 win over West Ham United. [17] [18] On 10 March 2021, Phillips made his Champions League debut, putting in a man of the match performance in a 2–0 win over RB Leipzig, and helping Liverpool advance to the quarter finals 4–0 on aggregate. [19]

Phillips scored his first goal for the club on 19 May 2021, scoring a headed goal and Liverpool's second of the game during a 3–0 away win over Burnley in the Premier League and claimed another man of the match award, this is currently his only goal for the club. [20] The following season, Phillips played in Liverpool's 2–1 win against AC Milan at the San Siro to complete the Champions League group stage with six wins. [21] Days later it was revealed Phillips suffered a fractured cheekbone during the game. [22] With game time limited in the 2021–22 season, Phillips admitted to being ready to leave the club in the January transfer window. [23]

AFC Bournemouth (loan)

On 31 January 2022, Phillips joined AFC Bournemouth on loan until the end of the season. [24] Regarding the move, Klopp commented that "he would have loved to have kept him [at Liverpool]" and that Phillips was "incredibly reliable [and a] great figure here at the training ground." [25] He made his debut for the club in the FA Cup on 6 February in a 1–0 loss to non-league side Boreham Wood. [26] Phillips made his league debut for the club, and his first appearance in the Championship, in a 3–1 victory against Birmingham City on 9 February. [27]

Celtic (loan)

On 31 August 2023, Phillips joined Scottish Premiership side Celtic on loan until January 2024. [28] He made his league debut for the club in a 3–0 win against Dundee on 16 September. [29] On 4 October, Phillips made his Champions League debut for Celtic in a 2–1 loss against Lazio on 4 October. [30] After struggling to break into the first team at Celtic, he was recalled back to Liverpool in January. [31]

Cardiff City (loan)

On 30 January 2024, Phillips joined EFL Championship club Cardiff City, on loan for the remainder of the 2023–24 season. [32] He made his league debut for the club on 3 February in a 1–0 win against Watford.

Derby County (loan)

On 30 August 2024, Phillips joined EFL Championship club Derby County, on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season. [33] Derby head coach Paul Warne stated that his signing would give him "greater tactical flexibility" in team selection. [34] Phillips made his Derby debut against former loan club Cardiff City on 14 September 2024. [35] He made his first start for Derby at Sunderland on 1 October 2024. [36] Phillips scored his first goal for Derby in a 1–0 win at Hull City on 26 April 2025. [37] Under new head coach John Eustace, Phillips impressed with his performance in a central defensive trio alongside Matt Clarke and Sondre Langås as Derby managed to escape relegation to League One, Phillips played 33 times for Derby during his loan spell and Eustace stated a desire for the player to return for the 2025–26 season. [38]

West Bromwich Albion

On 23 June 2025, Phillips signed for Championship side West Bromwich Albion on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. [39] [40]

Personal life

Nathaniel is the son of former footballer Jimmy Phillips and played under his management in the Bolton Wanderers academy. [41]

Since early 2022, Phillips has been dating Molly Moorish-Gallagher, the daughter of Lisa Moorish and Liam Gallagher. [42] In May 2025, Phillips and Moorish-Gallagher announced that they were expecting their first child. [43]

Career statistics

As of match played 23 August 2025 [44]
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] EuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool 2019–20 Premier League 001000000010
2020–21 Premier League17100003 [c] 000201
2021–22 Premier League0000102 [c] 0—30
2022–23 Premier League201020000050
2023–24 Premier League00000000—00
2024–25 Premier League00000000—00
Total19120305000291
VfB Stuttgart (loan) 2019–20 2. Bundesliga 19030———220
Liverpool U21 2021–22————1 [d] 010
AFC Bournemouth (loan) 2021–22 Championship 17010——00180
Celtic (loan) 2023–24 Scottish Premiership 60——2 [c] 0—80
Cardiff City (loan) 2023–24 Championship 181————181
Derby County (loan) 2024–25 32110———331
West Bromwich Albion 2025–26 300000——30
Career total1143703070101323
  1. ↑ Includes FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup
  3. 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ↑ Appearance in EFL Trophy

References

  1. ↑ "Nathaniel Phillips: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  2. ↑ "Nathaniel Phillips: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Updated squad lists for 2022/23 Premier League". Premier League. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "Nathaniel Phillips: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  5. ↑ "Nathaniel Phillips". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  6. ↑ "Phillips turns down U.S. college scholarship for shot with Liverpool". ESPN. 12 March 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "How Liverpool youngster came back from the brink to seal dream move to Reds". Liverpool Echo. 12 March 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  8. ↑ "Bolton Wanderers Youngster Nat Phillips Joins Liverpool". The Lion Of Vienna Suite. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Liverpool's 'hidden' pre-season star". Daily Mirror. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  10. ↑ "Nathaniel Phillips signs new Liverpool contract and joins Stuttgart on loan". Liverpool F.C. 7 August 2019.
  11. ↑ "VfB sign Liverpool defender Phillips". vfb.de. VfB Stuttgart. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  12. ↑ "Hansa Rostock – VfB Stuttgart 0:1 (DFB-Pokal 2019/2020, 1. Round)". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  13. ↑ "VfB Stuttgart – FC St. Pauli 2:1". dfb.de. German Football Association. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  14. ↑ "Nat Phillips returns from Stuttgart loan". Liverpool FC. 27 December 2019.
  15. ↑ "Nathaniel Phillips returns to Stuttgart on loan". Liverpool F.C. 13 January 2020.
  16. ↑ "Reds were 'sensationally good' - Klopp". BBC Sport.
  17. ↑ "Liverpool go top after Jota winner". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  18. ↑ "Who is Phillips, Liverpool's man thrown in the deep end?". BBC Sport.
  19. ↑ "Liverpool cruise into quarters as Sadio Mané and Salah cut down Leipzig again". Guardian. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  20. ↑ "Liverpool into top four after Burnley win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  21. ↑ "Liverpool beat Milan for perfect group stage record". BBC. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  22. ↑ "Nat Phillips set for spell out with cheekbone fracture". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  23. ↑ "Nat Phillips reveals he wants to leave Liverpool in January due to a lack of game time". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  24. ↑ "AFC BOURNEMOUTH COMPLETE SIGNING OF NAT PHILLIPS". AFC Bournemouth. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  25. ↑ "Jurgen Klopp: I would've loved to have kept Nat Phillips". Daily Echo. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  26. ↑ "AFC Bournemouth 0–1 Boreham Wood". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  27. ↑ "AFC Bournemouth 3–1 Birmingham City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  28. ↑ "Nat Phillips joins Celtic on a loan that would be evaluated in January 2024". Liverpool FC. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  29. ↑ "Leaders Celtic ease to victory over stubborn Dundee". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  30. ↑ "Champions League: Heartbreak for Celtic as Pedro strikes at death". BBC Sport. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  31. ↑ "Liverpool to recall Phillips from Celtic loan". tribal football. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  32. ↑ "Cardiff sign Liverpool defender Phillips on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  33. ↑ "Derby sign Phillips and Harness on loan". BBC Sport. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  34. ↑ "What Paul Warne told Nat Phillips in Derby County transfer call amid 'brilliant' Liverpool admission". Derby Telegraph. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  35. ↑ "MATCH REPORT: Derby County 1-0 Cardiff City". Derby County F.C. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  36. ↑ "Paul Warne springs quartet of surprises as he names Derby County team to face Sunderland". Derby Telegraph. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  37. ↑ "Hull City 0-1 Derby County". BBC Sport. 26 April 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  38. ↑ "John Eustace wants to keep Derby County star as Rams set to join transfer queue". Derby Telegraph. 4 May 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  39. ↑ "Nat Phillips completes permanent transfer to West Bromwich Albion - Liverpool FC". www.liverpoolfc.com. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  40. ↑ "Albion sign defender Nat Phillips from Liverpool". www.wba.co.uk. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  41. ↑ "Decade XI: Remembering those we never saw". 17 December 2019.
  42. ↑ "Nat Phillips opens up on life as Liam Gallagher's 'ideal' son-in-law after sealing Liverpool transfer". Liverpool Echo . 14 September 2023.
  43. ↑ "FC star announces baby". Liverpool Echo. 14 May 2025.
  44. ↑ "N. Phillips". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
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