Liverpool closing in on centre-back transfer

Liverpool are closing in on an agreement to sell a centre-back this summer.

Richard Hughes is a busy man working on bringing players into the club. But the Reds' sporting director is also working on selling players in order to trim down the current squad.

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Hughes' efforts will likely lead to several first team members of the team being sold. Among them, the most notable sale will likely be the departure of Darwin Nunez.

But the futures of the likes of Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Joe Gomez, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Harvey Elliott are also in doubt. It would not be a surprise to see a lot of them depart the club for pastures new.

They won't be alone. Hughes also has a number of fringe players in the squad who were either out on loan or hardly featured under Arne Slot and whose futures will also have to be resolved.

It seems like one of those players is now close to sealing a move away from Anfield.

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According The Telegraph journalist John Percy Liverpool are close to agreeing a transfer for Nathaniel Phillips to join West Brom.

Phillips will always be remembered as an iconic figure at Anfield. Facetiously often compared to Paolo Maldini, he was a brilliant servant every time he wore the Liver Bird on his chest.

The defender put his body on the line and gave it his all and he was adored for his powerful heading ability. But it was always clear that Phillips was never going to have a long-term career at Liverpool.

He's now 28-years-old, and it's pretty impressive that technically he's still contracted to Liverpool, with one year left on his contract.

All together, he will have spent nine years at the club, having joined from Bolton Wanderers back in the summer of 2016.

Last season, he was out on loan at Derby County and that seems to have attracted the attention of West Brom, which is a great destination for Phillips.

Moving there will give him an opportunity to be first choice and be in a team fighting for promotion to the Premier League.

Having enjoyed a solid spell in the Championship last season, it's now time for Phillips to build on his career and prove to everyone he's good enough to play a level above - just like he had done at Liverpool.

There is no mention of the fee Liverpool will be getting for Phillips but you'd imagine it would be a nominal one. He has just one year left on his current deal at Liverpool so the Reds will not be seeking a huge sum.

Any fee will be a profit on Phillips though and that's another great piece of business from Liverpool. They maximised some of the best years of Phillips' career and have now sold him on for a profit after a nine year spell at the club.

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Interestingly, this could be the second transfer sale for a centre-back Liverpool make this week with Jarell Quansah also set to leave and join Bayer Leverkusen.