Neil Jones has identified several Liverpool players who could potentially depart Anfield this summer, with some names either having or likely to attract ‘interest’.
The reliable reporter was speaking to CaughtOffside about a series of transfer matters regarding the Reds when he touched upon the topic of prospective exits, either on loan or permanently.
He stated: “Nat Phillips could also be one to watch and I think it’s probably the right time for him to leave – it was probably the right time last summer, to be honest.
“For one reason or another he didn’t get a move, and maybe Liverpool asked for too much money for him in the past, but there’s certainly interest in him now.”
Jones then mentioned numerous Reds youngsters who could be in the frame for temporary exits, saying: “I think there’ll be a few other Liverpool exits, most likely on loan. We’ve already seen a few of the younger players such as Rhys Williams going to Aberdeen, we’ve seen Owen Beck go to Dundee, and Calvin Ramsay joining Preston North End.
“In a similar vein, I think we’re likely to see Sepp van den Berg going back on loan, most likely back to the Bundesliga after a spell at Schalke that was disrupted by injury.
“Billy Koumetio is another young centre-back who I understand has a lot of loan interest, and players like Layton Stewart, I think there’ll be a lot of loan interest there. Ben Doak is another one, I think there are a lot of young players like that that clubs will be interested in.”
Of the five names Jones mentioned, Phillips is perhaps the standout in terms of a potential permanent sale, with Feyenoord and Leeds both being linked with him in recent days.
Liverpool may feel the time is right to cash in on the £10m-rated defender (The Athletic), who’s now 26 but still on the periphery of Jurgen Klopp’s squad; although in doing so they’d be giving up a player from their homegrown quota, an area where the Reds currently don’t have a great deal of scope.
The other quartet could all be viable loan exits, although the lack of a natural right-sided attacking alternative to Mo Salah could possibly see Doak retained, unless the manager has designs on occasionally utilising Dominik Szoboszlai or Harvey Elliott in that role (Transfermarkt).
With Phillips being fifth-choice centre-back but still ahead of Van den Berg and Koumetio in the pecking order, the latter duo could indeed be loaned out again next season and will hope to feature more than they did during their respective spells on the continent in 2022/23.
The Dutchman’s campaign at Schalke 04 was heavily curtailed by injury, while the France underage international played just 11 times for Austria Vienna (Transfermarkt).
Stewart turns 21 in September but still has just one senior appearance to his name (Transfermarkt), so the centre-forward could certainly benefit from a temporary move to a club who can grant him regular game-time at first-team level.
Elliott showed from his time at Blackburn how a profitable loan spell can offer a springboard towards regular action under Klopp at Liverpool, so ideally the players mentioned by Jones can enjoy similarly fruitful spells if they are loaned out for the upcoming season.