The £45m workhorse who could electrify Liverpool’s midfield - and reignite stalling career

Liverpool have quickly gone from having a gloat-worthy transfer window to scrambling for reinforcements as deadline day approaches. After the statement signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, Jurgen Klopp was hit with the crushing blow of a hefty midfield exodus.

It seemed like James Milner’s exit would be the toughest departure to take this summer. Despite the club doing their best to keep him at Anfield, Mr Evergreen was set on starting a new chapter once his contract ran out in June. The 37-year-old gave his all to every performance and adapted to various roles whenever called upon.

And while his versatility will certainly be missed on Merseyside, Milner leaving was just the foreshadowing of a bigger situation looming over the club.

Amid Saudi Arabia’s relentless Premier League shopping spree, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho found themselves head-hunted by the Pro League, and the two eventually packed up and left for pastures new. It was a surprise of the highest order when both deals materialised, leaving Liverpool with 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic as their only natural defensive midfielder heading into what promises to be another highly competitive season.

A total of five senior midfielders have left Liverpool this summer, and concerning rumours also linking Thiago to the Middle East have created further uncertainty. There has been very little time to waste in enacting what is now an entire midfield restructure.

The Reds’ interest in priority target Roméo Lavia looked as though it would fill the hefty gap in Klopp’s engine room, and despite three rejected bids, they remained hell-bent on wearing Southampton down. That was until Chelsea unleashed the ultimate revenge on Liverpool after they had tried to hijack the Blues’ record-breaking Moisés Caicedo transfer.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side snatched Lavia’s signature after weeks of hard graft on Merseyside, and in the blink of an eye, Klopp and his team were back to scrambling for new transfer options. Indeed, Wataru Endo has joined the ranks, but there is still time to further add to a worrisome key area of the pitch, and to patch up the wounds left from recent departures.

We’re approaching the final days of the transfer window and rather than scouting out new interests, Liverpool are revisiting old flames from earlier in the summer. One man who has been re-linked to an Anfield move is Kalvin Phillips, who made a dream career move to Manchester City last year, but has adopted a secondary role at the Etihad.

Since signing for the Premier League champions, Phillips has looked like a questionable use of his £45 million fee. In the bigger picture of City’s vast finances, that’s probably not a lot of money to have spent on an often unused substitute, but it’s the principle over anything else. The former Leeds United star made just 12 league appearances during his debut season in sky blue, and only two of those were starts.

Phillips was a mainstay with his former club but heading to City for silverware has come at a considerable price - his time on the pitch. Now, he’s looking at potentially moving on after a short spell in Manchester, and Liverpool are said to be in the running to snap him up.

TEAMtalk report that the Reds have ‘made enquiries’ to sign the 27-year-old, and other recent claims suggest a loan deal could be on the cards between the two parties. Man City are open to letting Phillips leave this summer, given that they acted right away with the signing of Mateo Kovacic to replace İlkay Gündoğan. There is still no room at the inn for Phillips and he is yet to play a single minute of football so far this season.

Bringing the England international to Anfield, even on a loan spell, would be a big scoop for Liverpool. Phillips was a key part of Leeds’ set up during his long career there, so he knows exactly what it means to be relied on. If he was to become Klopp’s first choice in defensive midfield, he would take to the role quickly and naturally, and that’s something Liverpool really need right - calm and collected individuals to steady the ship.

During the 2020/21 season when Phillips played almost the same amount of Premier League games as Fabinho, the former Leeds man averaged more tackles (2.6) and interceptions (1.6) per 90 minutes than Liverpool’s ex-star with 1.9 and 1.5 respectively. As well as being strong in helping out the back-line, Phillips also contributed to the attack with his 1.2 key pass average, as well as notching a goal and two assists for the term, as per WhoScored.

Not only would Liverpool be gaining a confident, capable No.6 to ease the sting from their midfield exodus, the player himself would also be given a big chance to boost his own trajectory. Right now, he has settled for the minimal playing time offered under Pep Guardiola, but he would undoubtedly be a frequent starter in Klopp’s squad if he was to join.

Knowing Liverpool are relying on him to perform, Phillips will have the perfect opportunity to remind the league of his strength, leadership, and ability to conduct a top flight midfield.

Even if he only joins on a temporary basis, a season-long loan is enough to boost Liverpool’s options in the engine room and see them past this unexpected and worrying period. It would also get his own name back on the radar as he either pushes for a more permanent role at Man City, or attracts other interested clubs who would jump at the chance to make him an ever-present feature in their team.