Newcastle are one of four Premier League clubs who have been in touch with Liverpool about signing Nat Phillips this summer.
The Athletic claim there is top flight interest in the Anfield central defender, but there have been no offers yet.
Burnley, Brighton and Southampton are the other three clubs who have apparently been in contact with the Reds about Phillips.
A new central defender wouldn’t go amiss at Newcastle this summer, after missing out on Kristoffer Ajer to Brentford.
What’s the problem?
In short, the asking price. The report claims Phillips could cost between £12 and £15 million this summer.
That might be why no concrete bids have gone in for the 24-year-old so far, despite the fact he is available and up for sale.
Newcastle’s plan for the summer seems to be that they’ll only spend money on players called Joe Willock.
Otherwise, it looks like loans all the way. That might change slightly, but it would be a surprise to see them pay eight figures for Phillips.
Phillips did really well in difficult circumstances at Liverpool last season, filling in when they had a host of absent central defenders.
He’ll be a backup option at Anfield if nobody meets the asking price.
The Reds have shown they don’t mind keeping hold of fringe players if their valuation isn’t met. Divock Origi is one example.
Brighton have the Ben White money to spend and Southampton have the Danny Ings money to spend.
Both clubs look more likely to spend the cash required to buy Phillips at this moment in time.
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