Nat Phillips has said that that being denied the opportunity to leave Anfield last summer on a loan agreement left him feeling disappointed all before his major breakthrough into the first-team ranks for Liverpool FC.
The 23-year-old central defender has transformed into an influential figure for the Reds backline in recent times amid the defending champions facing an acute injury crisis, one which has sidelined the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez for the remainder of the ongoing campaign.
Phillips is now a familiar face in the Liverpool FC teamsheet week in and week out, most recently putting in a solid shift in the victory over Sheffield United, but the Englishman has admitted to feeling upset when the club refused to let him depart the Merseyside in the last summer transfer window.
“At the end of pre-season, it looked like I was on my way out and going elsewhere to get some games and start my career, and carry on off the back of my loan spell last season,” Phillips said in an interview to Sky Sports.
“Initially, when it first happened, everybody was fit, and it didn’t look like there would be any scenario where I would be playing for Liverpool’s first team this year.
“I was a bit disappointed because I was looking forward to going and playing football and just kick-starting my career, but obviously things changed, and I don’t think anybody could have seen what was coming, and it was like a typical example of how bizarre football can be sometimes.
“I think it was within a month I was making my debut.”
The defender would be in the reckoning for a second successive start in top-flight football when Chelsea visit Anfield on Thursday in what is a crunch fixture for both sides engaged in the battle to secure Champions League football.
