31 Mar 2021 08:41:07
Ed002 I see you Mention Williams, van den Berg and Koumetio in a post. Not sure how van den berg has done on his loan but I think all 3 could do with a full season long loan. I really don't know what Klopp is going to do with Phillips because even after playing really well Klopp kept dropping him but he seems to look like his going to give him a chance now. Davis I am a bit confused about Klopp said he needs time to get use to how we play but I think it would have been harder for Kabak being younger and coming from abroad. As for Matip Ed I could not see any club wanting to touch him with a barge pole with his injury record not sure if he has ever played 10 games on the trot for us since he signed and bet we would put stupid value on him. Some very big decisions to be made by the club this summer Ed.

31 Mar 2021 10:13:05
Think due to Kabak having more experience playing against better opposition he was the obvious player to start in defence. I like nat, think he’s a good CB. Hopefully between now and the end of the season these two can create a solid partnership throughout. Has been good so far.
As for Davies, I think as people have already mentioned has was more of an ‘insurance buy’ incase of any more injuries. That being said I could still see him being here as a 5th choice next season. Him or Phillips for our 5th choice. I wouldn’t be surprised if klopp spent a bit more care with him and nurturing him into the side as a bit of a project? But his age maybe suggest otherwise.

Matip, personally I think we’ll get a buyer for him. Not for a lot of money but enough for the club to say thank you.
Davies/ Phillips, I think one of these leaves for a decent amount 10 mil + (think Davies is good and has PL quality but for a lower team. Same with Nat) . Would be more than happy to keep both if it were necessary as 4th and 5th choices.
Sepp, Rhys and Billy. I agree I think loans for these 3 are required. Sepp sounds like he’s been doing well at Preston (I believe playing at RB? ) so could he potentially be 5th choice next season as cover for CB and RB? Rhys, is a decent enough player given our current situation but he definitely needs a loan in league 1 for a season then the championship for a season, only then can he be deemed good enough imo. As for Billy, I’ve not seen much of him (he would probably have had more chance this season but was injured) but from what I have seen he is quite a long way off. Certainly send him on loan for a couple of seasons.

VVD, Gomez, Konate, Kabak, Davies/ Phillips.
Or
VVD, Gomez, Konate, Davies, Phillips. (If Davies is seen as a project.

I’d have the first set of CB’s + Nat preferably. But who knows what’s going to happen.

31 Mar 2021 10:45:58
Nat Phillips is kind of the underdog story and is getting a lot of fans backing which is great to see but I still think he has a way to go to get Klopps full backing. I seen people mention on here the other day about him being our player of the season. He’s only actually started 8 league and 1 CL games this season out of 40 plus. His best run so far is playing in 3 consecutive league games Spurs, Brighton and West Ham. Kabak has started 3 less league games than him and has been at the club 2 months. The good thing for Phillips is now it looks likely that him and Kabak will be first choice up until the end of the season.

31 Mar 2021 11:22:15
Agree with Moreton here, especially on the preferred choice of 5 including Kabak and Phillips.

JK23, I've been frustrated (as you've probably seen on chat! ) as have a lot of other posters with Klopp's reluctance to play Phillips until recently.

I believe that as his style is a bit different to the our first choice CBs (more of an old school CB who defends first rather than looking for the right attacking pass first), Klopp may have been concerned about the effect on the shape of the team.

However, the last 2-3 games before the international break seem to suggest that we have adapted and play much better with Phillips and Kabak at the back and Fabs in midfield than with any of the other combinations we have tried.

I guess it comes down to Nat himself as well. If he's prepared to stay for c10 games per season (mostly, unless of injury) then I'd love to keep him. Perhaps him and Kabak could be the go to partnership in cups, with VVD/ Gomez/ Konate rotating for the EPL like VVD/ Gomez/ Matip have done?

I also agree with Moreton that we WILL get money for Matip. Not a huge amount given his injury history, but we have dozens of examples of injury prone players getting moves, for money, if they are good when fit, as Matip undoubtedly is. I believe we will get at least £20m from Matip + 1 other CB (whether Davies or Phillips) which will go a good way towards the Konate fee.

Our 3 very young CBs do indeed need season long loans.

31 Mar 2021 11:44:06
I love watching Phillips play and i want nothing more than for him to prove he is good enough for us in the long run, but i just can’t see it happening. He’s a good player who’ll have a good top flight career after he leaves in the summer, but for our needs he isn’t the type of defender we want. He is so entertaining to watch because everything he does is so reckless and on the stretch, but he’ll begin to get caught out eventually. Whereas Kabak, after a shaky start, does look to be developing some composure and confidence and looks much more the cultured centre half that we would be inclined to keep around.

31 Mar 2021 12:10:50
I really don’t see the club holding 5 first team CBs next season?
Sell who needs to be sold, raise funds (which are tight anyway) and if absolutely necessary play a younger player or a midfielder again.
Why would Nat Phillips or someone else choose to be 5th choice when he could play regularly elsewhere?
If we need 5 CBs then I’d suggest something is badly wrong and the choices are not the correct ones.