West Brom in to finalise first major summer signing in blow to Norwich City
Nat Phillips, a central defender for Liverpool, is a target for West Bromwich Albion, who may make their first acquisition under Ryan Mason.
According to the Telegraph, West Brom is very close to signing Phillips to a long-term contract.
Mason, the new head coach, is rumored to have pushed for the move and is almost done signing Phillips for an undisclosed sum, which is probably a steal given that he only has a year left on his Liverpool deal.
In recent weeks, Albion and numerous other Championship clubs have shown a great deal of interest in the central defender. Among those eager were Derby County, who valued Phillips’ contribution in preventing their relegation to League One the previous season.
Another was supposedly Norwich City, which was recently taken over by new head coach Liam Manning.
What role might Nat Phillips play at West Brom?
Phillips’ arrival will greatly aid Albion, who were in dire need of a new center-half or several.
With moves to AFC Bournemouth, Celtic, Cardiff City, and Derby, the 28-year-old, who won the Carabao Cup with Liverpool in 2022, has been on loan away from Anfield for the previous several seasons.
Although Phillips hasn’t been a consistent starter for Liverpool in a number of years, he did contribute well during the 2020–21 season, making 17 Premier League games.
His most productive season to date was the previous one, as he played 2,232 Championship minutes for Derby and helped them avoid relegation.
At The Hawthorns, Phillips is undoubtedly going to start right away, though veteran defender Kyle Bartley will most likely alternate with him.
Although Mason may choose to switch Torbjorn Heggem to left-back in order to pair Bartley and Phillips, Heggem is one of the first names on the squad sheet in the other center-back position.
West Brom wants to add additional players.
Mason will be eager to oversee a squad change to help push the team back into play-off contention, so Phillips won’t be the only player West Brom is after in a summer transfer.
Mason’s arrival does enable the focus to shift from the manager search to player recruitment, even if head coaches at The Hawthorns rarely have direct control over transactions.
While academy product Tom Fellows may be able to get a move to the Premier League, West Brom is keen to strengthen a number of important positions as they will need to replace soon-to-be free agents Ajayi, Grady Diangana, and John Swift.
That would require acquiring players for at least the center-back, attacking midfield, right wing, and left wing positions, not to mention other areas that were obviously in need of improvement during the previous campaign.
After Alex Palmer left in January, Albion should possibly think about acquiring a new goalkeeper. They also need more bite in midfield, another left-back, and more depth at center-back.
In actuality, the West Brom roster may look completely different going into the upcoming campaign, which is definitely what supporters will desire given how poorly 2024–2025 went.
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