Nat Phillips has attracted a bid from Turkish side Trabzonspor, but Liverpool have rejected their opening offer and they will need to make the defender their record signing if they want him.
As reported on Sunday, there was a “concrete possibility” that the centre-back could make the move to Turkey as Trabzonspor entered negotiations with Liverpool.
The Turkish side tabled a bid of £4 million and members of the Merseyside press, including the Athletic‘s James Pearce and reporter David Lynch, state it has been rejected.
Liverpool value Phillips at £8 million and are evidently not willing to accept 50 percent of that price tag as they “are in no rush to sell.”
The 27-year-old may feel different about that last point as he seeks a club where he can settle and play regular football after being sent on loan and spending time on the fringes at Anfield.
Notably, the Red’s demands for the centre-back would require Trabzonspor to make him their record signing, which currently stands at £5.8 million (€6.9m) after landing Majeed Waris in 2014.
Phillips is currently in pre-season training at the AXA Training Centre and has attracted interest beyond just Trabzonspor, with Cardiff, Ipswich and Mainz previously name-checked.
Burnley are also interested in his services. New manager Scott Parker worked with the 27-year-old while he was on loan at Bournemouth in the second half of the 2021/22 season.
The defender, who has made 29 senior appearances for Liverpool, will be weighing up his options in the coming weeks, but for now, will be a valuable centre-back for Arne Slot to utilise in pre-season.
With Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez still competing at the Euros, it leaves only Jarell Quansah in training from the centre-back group last season.
