Nathaniel Harry "Nat" Phillips (born 21 March 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Derby County, on loan from Premier League club Liverpool.
 Phillips training with VfB Stuttgart in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nathaniel Harry Phillips | ||
| Date of birth | 21 March 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Bolton, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back[2] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Derby County (on loan from Liverpool) | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 200?–2016 | Bolton Wanderers | ||
| 2016–2019 | Liverpool | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019– | 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– | → Derby County (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 November 2024 (UTC) | |||
Early life
Nathaniel Harry 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.[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]
Personal life
Nathaniel is the son of former footballer Jimmy Phillips and played under his management in the Bolton Wanderers academy.[37]
Since early 2022, Phillips has been dating Molly Moorish, the daughter of Lisa Moorish and Liam Gallagher.[38]
Career statistics
- As of match played 9 November 2024[39]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 2019–20 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| 2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | ||
| VfB Stuttgart (loan) | 2019–20 | 2. Bundesliga | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 0 | |||
| Liverpool U21 | 2021–22 | — | — | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| AFC Bournemouth (loan) | 2021–22 | Championship | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Celtic (loan) | 2023–24 | Scottish Premiership | 6 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Cardiff City (loan) | 2023–24 | Championship | 18 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 1 | ||||
| Derby County (loan) | 2024–25 | Championship | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 89 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 106 | 2 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in EFL Trophy
References
External links
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