What Liverpool star Nat Phillips has said will no doubt delight West Ham boss David Moyes but may make Jurgen Klopp think twice.
West Ham are said to be seriously eyeing up a move to sign Liverpool centre-back Phillips early on in the January transfer window according to a report from The Evening Standard.
Hammers insiders Claret and Hugh claim Moyes has told his staff he likes Phillips as the Scot looks to strengthen having lost both first choice centre backs Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma to long-term injuries.
West Ham have received major encouragement from Liverpool boss Klopp and the Phillips himself.
Klopp admitted recently he will let Phillips leave Liverpool in January.
There has been talk that James Tarkowski may end up being Moyes’s preferred choice as he opts for experience.
What Liverpool star Nat Phillips said will delight West Ham boss David Moyes but may make Jurgen Klopp think twice
So what Phillips has just said about his experience and ability will delight Moyes and West Ham.
The only problem is, it may make Klopp and Liverpool think twice about letting him leave!
“Not only the defenders we have (that I have learned so much from), but the attackers as well,” Phillips said when asked about his experience and ability to be the main man elsewhere (Sky Sports).
“If I’m holding my own in training against the strikers we have then it stands me in good stead.
“I can’t complain. The standard in training improves me every day.”
Phillips makes a very salient point.
If he is up against the likes Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and co everyday then there aren’t many bigger tests elsewhere in Europe let alone the Premier League.
That will be hugely reassuring to Moyes if he is facing a dilemma over who to choose between Phillips and Tarkowski.
But it may also make Liverpool reconsider letting him go. Phillips was brilliant in the Reds’s Champions League win over AC Milan recently, dominating Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
For West Ham’s sake let’s hope that is not the case.
And with The Mirror reporting that West Ham might be able to get Phillips for just £12m, it could turn out to be one of Moyes’s best pieces of transfer business yet.
More West Ham news:
No more Mr Nice Guy as Moyes vows to crack whip and criticises trio.
Insider delivers major update on Moyes’s January transfer plans.
Kretinsky and Sullivan sent clear transfer message but there’s a problem.
Liverpool star responds to West Ham links and says he’d welcome move.