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Fullname: Nathaniel Harry Phillips
aka: Nat Phillips, Nathaniel Phillips
Born: 21 March 1997
Birthplace: Bolton, England
Signed: 31 August 2023 (on loan from Liverpool, initially to January 2024)
Left: 2 January 2024 (end of loan, return to Liverpool)
Position: Centre-half, Centre-back, Defender
Debut: Celtic 3-0 Dundee, SP, 16 Sep 2023
Squad No.: 6
Internationals: […]
International Caps: [TBC at end of career]
International Goals: [TBC at end of career]
Biog
Nat Phillips joined Celtic as a stop-gap in a situation suiting both sides. He had little played in the past few seasons for Liverpool, who were captained by the world class ex-Celt van Dijk (whom he had covered for when van Dijk was injured), and he had a spell at Bournemouth to get him gametime.
In many ways, he was better known as of 2023, for his relationship with Molly Moorish-Gallagher, daughter of Oasis lead singer (& Man City/Celtic fan) Liam Gallagher. Having now signed for Celtic, one tabloid claimed that the girl’s father had now forgiven him!
Celtic may have been the treble winners the previous season, but the start of the 2023/24 season was quite a comedown in the first few weeks, being quickly knocked out the league cup by Kilmarnock and then dropping points unexpectedly to a poor St Johnstone at home in the league.
The returning Brendan Rodgers had a nightmare on his hands with a slew of injuries decimating his plans, including that of the indispensable Carter-Vickers, but then the sale of Starfelt was followed by an injury to his replacement Nawrocki as well as by last-gasp back-up Stephen Welsh, so Phillips was brought in as emergency cover.
His first match should have been a pivotal first league meeting of the season v Sevco in September 2023, but he was left out the squad as he was not deemed match fit. However, the untried Liam Scales and Lagerbielke put in an excellent shift, so ironically some began asking if Phillips was even now needed before he had even kicked a ball!
He finally made his debut in the following 3-0 league victory v Dundee, and despite a decent performance, he badly rolled his ankle during the game and was out for the following games (including the Champions League group opener away to Feyenoord). So ironically again, the replacement for the slew of injured centre-halves was now himself out injured after only his first match!
However, the surprise form of the previously written off Liam Scales meant that Phillips was little required for further assistance even following the injury crisis at the club. He still played in a number of games, but hardly stood out or impressed which surprised everyone.
The denouement for his time at Celtic (and some were arguing potentially his career), came in the shock 2-1 away league defeat v Kilmarnock (Dec 2023) in which Nat Phillips had a dire game; he was off the pace, scored an own goal, and lost the ball too easily in innocuous challenges which would be generally uncharacteristic of even players in lower tiers. Granted he wasn’t the only poor player that day, but many were wondering why he started ahead of others available. The criticisms of his form on the day were undeniably justified. It was hard to fathom how his parent club could claim a lofty valuation they had of their player (some stating it at £7-8m), a clear reflection of the delusion some had of just any player in the English Premiership in this admittedly golden era for that league.
It was an irony that a defeat to Kilmarnock was what in part brought him to Celtic but a defeat to Kilmarnock that was ending his opportunities at Celtic.
In truth, there was a surprise at his relative lack of ability, and he clearly didn’t demonstrate that he was of a high standard despite coming from the mega-rich & successful Liverpool squad (with a number of appearances for their first team). He was awkward at times and lacked pace; he was clearly not a top tier player. Some justifiably argued he was little better than any of his centre-half counterparts across the Scottish Premiership let alone at Celtic. As much as we can all appreciate that he had had injury problems in recent seasons, he had still been in training and practice with sufficient games to recover too.
Cynics online suggested that it was contractual obligations for why Phillips was most often played ahead of others. This didn’t help matters.
There was no issue with him personally. He never hit back with any frustrations in the media, and despite any setbacks he did give his all in each match like a true professional, which is the best we can say about his time at Celtic.
It just simply wasn’t working out for him, and the bigger question for himself was how his career would pan out from here onwards.
He was swiftly moved back to Liverpool in the January transfer window, with unsurprisingly no attempt from Celtic to roll on his contract even though Celtic were once again down to the bare bones when it came to cover for the centre-half roles.
We all wished him the best.
Post-Celtic
Despite the disappointing spell at Celtic, he went back to a welcoming Liverpool where the fans still had a soft spot for the player, albeit were unsurpisingly not giving him any first team runouts.
He moved onto Cardiff City for a loan for the second half of 2023/24,
[…]
Quotes
“I can’t wait to get going, I can’t wait to play in front of the home fans and I’m looking forward to being out there on the pitch.”
Nat Phillips (Aug 2023)
“Robbo (Andy Robertson) is probably just as excited as I am and I think, potentially, a little bit jealous because he loves it here. And the same with Virgil. He had a great time here, so I’ve heard nothing but good things.”
Nat Phillips (Aug 2023)
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2023-24 | 3(3) | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 4(4) |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
(Honours are marked below in which the player has played in at least one of the matches in the campaign.)
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Nat Phillips: Liverpool Bhoys told me Celtic is the perfect place for me
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2023/august/31/nat-phillips–liverpool-bhoys-told-me-celtic-is-the-perfect-place-for-me/
By Paul Cuddihy, Celtic View Editor
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31 Aug 2023, 4:30 pm
As soon as Nat Phillips heard about Celtic’s interest, he was eager to get the move to the Scottish Champions signed, sealed and delivered.
The 26-year-old defender today became the latest addition to Brendan Rodgers’ squad, having joined on a loan deal from Liverpool until January 2024.
And two of his Anfield team-mates spoke glowingly about Celtic and the benefits of the move.
Speaking exclusively to Celtic TV, Nat Phillips said: “Robbo (Andy Robertson) is probably just as excited as I am and I think, potentially, a little bit jealous because he loves it here.
“And the same with Virgil. He had a great time here, so I’ve heard nothing but good things.
‘I’m really excited. When I heard about the interest it was one that got me excited.’
“There were a few other options that didn’t quite make me feel the same as this one did, so I was really keen to get it over the line and I’m delighted to be here now.
“We’ve had a few conversations (with Brendan Rodgers) since I’ve been here and they’ve gone really well. They’ve just reassured the decision around this whole thing, and I’m really excited to get working with him.”
And as to why Celtic is the perfect choice for him, the new Bhoy explained, “It’s the history of the club. It’s such a huge club, the club’s aspirations, the level it competes at, the fact that they’re in the Champions League this year and the mentality of the club – they want to be winners in everything they do.”
Now that he’s a Celtic player, Phillips will be watching the UEFA Champions League draw with the same eagerness as all of his new team-mates.
The defender has already gained experience at that level with Liverpool, and he’s looking to add to that in the green and white Hoops.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “Obviously I’ve seen Celtic compete in the competition over the years but hearing the stories of the Champions League nights here, I’m really excited to see how they look.
“I would say that I’m more of a traditional type of defender, one who does the basics well and, ultimately the job of the defender is to keep the ball out of the goal and do that by any means necessary but I would say that, when it comes down to it, I’m someone who’ll put his body on the line for the team.
“I can’t wait to get going, I can’t wait to play in front of the home fans and I’m looking forward to being out there on the pitch.”