# Nat Phillips

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.

## Early life

Nathaniel Phillips was born on 21 March 1997 in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

## 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. Two days before his planned flight to the United States, he joined Liverpool's academy instead.

### 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.

#### VfB Stuttgart loan and Liverpool recall

In 2019, Phillips moved to German second-division club VfB Stuttgart on loan for the season. 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. Phillips made his first appearance in the 2019–20 2. Bundesliga on 17 August 2019 against FC St. Pauli. 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. 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.

#### Return to Liverpool

On 31 October 2020, Phillips made his league debut for Liverpool, starting in a 2–1 win over West Ham United. 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.
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. 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. Days later it was revealed Phillips suffered a fractured cheekbone during the game. With game time limited in the 2021–22 season, Phillips admitted to being ready to leave the club in the January transfer window.

#### AFC Bournemouth (loan)

On 31 January 2022, Phillips joined AFC Bournemouth on loan until the end of the season. 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." 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. 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.

#### Celtic (loan)

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

#### Cardiff City (loan)

On 30 January 2024, Phillips joined EFL Championship club Cardiff City, on loan for the remainder of the 2023–24 season. 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. Derby head coach Paul Warne stated that his signing would give him "greater tactical flexibility" in team selection. Phillips made his Derby debut against former loan club Cardiff City on 14 September 2024. He made his first start for Derby at Sunderland on 1 October 2024.

## Personal life

Nathaniel is the son of former footballer Jimmy Phillips and played under his management in the Bolton Wanderers academy.
Since early 2022, Phillips has been dating Molly Moorish, the daughter of Lisa Moorish and Liam Gallagher.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 15 March 2025
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | 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 |
| Liverpool | 2020–21 | Premier League | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| Liverpool | 2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Liverpool | 2022–23 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Liverpool | 2023–24 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Liverpool | 2024–25 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Liverpool | Total | 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 | 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 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 103 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 121 | 2 |
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Appearance in EFL Trophy