Nat Phillips was linked with Nottingham Forest last summer and the Liverpool man has told The Guardian he wasn’t sure what his future held.
The 23-year-old was linked with a move to the City Ground when Sabri Lamouchi was still overseeing the first-team.
Eventually, Forest landed Scott McKenna and Loic Mbe Soh, scuppering any chance of landing the Liverpool player.
Phillips has enjoyed quite the campaign. Injuries to several defenders have propelled him into the spotlight at Anfield.
He has made 10 first-team appearances and made his Champions League debut last week against Leipzig.
Phillips has suggested that his rise this season has come as a surprise.
He told The Guardian: “Premier League football, over the last year, was something I saw as an ambition.
“I wouldn’t say I have earned the right just yet. Circumstances have dictated it and I still have plenty more to do.
“My ambitions are always changing. If you had asked me at the start of the season if I thought I was capable of playing in the Premier League I would have said yes. But whether that was for Liverpool, I wasn’t sure.”
Did Forest miss a trick with Phillips?
It’s really difficult to say but he does look like someone with a bright future.
As he rightly says, he has earned himself a Liverpool chance on the back of some rotten injury problems at Anfield.
It’s not harsh to suggest that had Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez not picked up serious injuries, he could still be waiting for his first top-flight appearance.
Whether or not Forest were wrong not to push harder for Phillips is all hypothetical at this stage.
He’s clearly showcasing just how good he is at Anfield but he is unlikely to remain first choice next season.
With his stock now rising, it does seem as though Premier League clubs will be alerted should Liverpool look to offload him in the next 12 months or so.
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