The defender is on the move again after time at Celtic and there’s more in our Hoops transfer update.
Nat Phillips will leave Liverpool again this month after his Celtic loan spell came to an end.
The centre-back was drafted in by Brendan Rodgers to help with a defensive crisis at Parkhead, but he has returned south with numbers now swelling. His time in Glasgow was far from smooth though, playing eight times and seeing performances like his display in a 2-1 Premiership defeat to Kilmarnock put under the microscope.
Uncertainty surrounded what would come next for him with Liverpool also struggling with some injuries, but assistant boss Pep Lijnders has confirmed he will leave on loan alongside Scotland international Calvin Ramsay. Lijnders said: “Him (Ramsay) and Nat [Phillips], good examples. There’s interest – what is good. We have to find – with the agent, with himself, with the clubs – the right decision for the player. He needs to have game time, needs to play, have a lot of success.
“That’s why I like the move of Fabio [Carvalho], for example. He plays a lot, is straight away decisive – together with Tyler [Morton]. Matt Newberry, our head of loans, he’s full of business this winter.
“He needs a holiday after this for sure! These boys all have potential, otherwise they would not be with us. But they need as well the right pathway. What you said, a good loan can do wonders.”
Another who could leave Celtic this month is Rocco Vata, with a clutch of Italian clubs after the youngster. He is out of contract in the summer and netted in the weekend’s 5-0 Scottish Cup win over Buckie, with Hoops legend Peter Grant sensing something is afoot when it comes to the winger.
He told Go Radio: “I said at the start of the season that I saw him playing wide and I thought he did really, really well. But if you listen to Brendan’s interviews, then you are thinking ‘Uhmm, maybe there isn’t something right off the pitch’.
“We keep saying it. It’s easier to be critical of the manager when he isn’t playing certain players, but then there could be something in the background. There could be anything that we don’t know.
“It was an interesting interview after with Brendan talking about Rocco. He made the point clear. It’s not just down to ability, so maybe there is something that is making him have that wee boil on his back and not enjoying certain parts of his professionalism.”
Matt O’Riley is another star Celtic will be keen to keep amid swirling rumours that Girona are keen. Leeds United failed in their bid to sign him in the summer and talk of Leicester City has also surfaced. Both are pushing for Premier League promotion, with that achievement and a £15-£20m bid enough to ask the question of the midfielder, according to Carlton Palmer.
The former England international told Football League World: “The Celtic management team do not want to let Matt O’Riley leave the club, but we know the owners are businessmen and not footballing people, so it would take a significant offer for Celtic to part with his services.
“Matt seems very settled and happy in the Celtic setup as we speak. He’s certainly not looking to move in the January transfer window, with it being claimed that he will 100% be a Celtic player when the window closes.
“But who knows what will happen in the summer should Leicester and Leeds – who are very keen on the player – come knocking with a £15m to £20m offer if they are back in the Premier League. Surely O’Riley would be interested?.”
Meanwhile, Record Sport has revealed Scott Brown is a managerial target for Forest Green Rovers. Ayr have made a move to make the Celtic icon their gaffer but a chance to return to England after a spell in the Fleetwood Town dugout is what they will hope can tempt Brown.
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