Rumour Mongering: Brighton Target Nat Phillips to Replace Ben White

Arsenal are on the verge of signing Ben White from Brighton and Hove Albion after agreeing a £50M transfer for the 23-year-old Englishman, which means that very shortly Brighton will have two things: a little money and the need to sign a centre half.

And according to multiple sources, the top targets to replace him is Liverpool’s Nat Phillips, which could in turn see £15M headed to Liverpool for the player who was pressed into first team service at Anfield by last season’s unprecedented injury crisis.

Liverpool, for their part, have always been cast as less than eager sellers, but for the right price and if Phillips does want to move in search of more regular playing time outside of times of unprecedented injury crises, a deal would likely be done.

Phillips joined Liverpool from Bolton’s academy in 2016 and made his debut in the FA Cup in January 2020 after being recalled from Stuttgart. He then returned to the 2.Bundesliga club and made 22 total appearances for the them in the 2019-20 season.

He was expected to depart the club last summer—for far less than the £15M he’s now valued at—but with the market depressed he ended up stuck at Liverpool, expecting to see out the season with the reserves and perhaps make a few cup appearances.

Then, the Reds’ injury crisis hit, giving Phillips the chance to impress. In addition, Brighton are said to have also targeted Getafe midfielder Marc Cucurella and Kawasaki winger Kaoru Mitoma as they look to reinvest their Ben White windfall.