Rumour Mongering: West Ham Target Nat Phillips and Burnley’s Tarkowski

Nat Phillips was given the chance to show his qualities against AC Milan in Liverpool’s final Champions League group stage game on Tuesday night and the Bolton-born centre half did just that, with a strong—and sometimes even flashy—performance.

At the end of the day, though, the 24-year-old’s chances are likely to remain limited with the Reds as long as the four players ahead of him on the depth chart remain mostly fit, and so it’s perhaps no surprise to find him today again being linked with a move.

The interested club, at least according to The Evening Standard, is West Ham. In the midst of a defensive injury crisis, David Moyes’ Hammers are said to be planning a centre half signing in January and Phillips is said to be one of their top two targets.

The other is Burnley’s 29-year-old Englishman James Tarkowski, who has also found himself linked with a Newcastle move in recent weeks, and West Ham are said to be hopeful of completing a deal to sign one of the two players early next month.

On paper, it would seem an intriguing option for Phillips should West Ham’s interest be legitimate, promising a clearer path to playing time for the defender—and for a club who are legitimate top four contenders in the Premier League this season.

One expects, though, the Reds will not be eager to sell any players in January regardless interest, and if Phillips wants to see out the season at Anfield and perhaps earn silverware his continued presence in the squad would be a welcome one.