Liverpool rookie Nathaniel Phillips could be in line to make his Premier League debut as Virgil van Dijk remains the only fit centre-back for Liverpool, according to the Daily Mirror.
The newspaper claimed on their website that the 21-year-old, who signed for the Reds from Bolton in 2016, could be brought into the first-team on Sunday as the Merseysiders kick off their league campaign against West Ham.
Van Dijk is the only senior defender guaranteed to be fit,with Dejan Lovren unlikely to start after a long summer on World Cup duty with finalists Croatia.
It is understood that Joel Matip and Joe Gomez have both returned to training this week after muscle problems yet remain doubtful for the game while Ragnar Klavan is out due to a muscle complaint.
The Mirror says that Klopp will include youngster Nathaniel Phillips in the squad and could even be forced to hand the defender his top flight debut if Matip and Gomez are unable to participate.
OPINION
With defensive issues, Jurgen Klopp could be forced into turning towards the inexperienced centre-back as an option for Sunday’s league opener. However, Phillips’ excellent form in pre-season with give the German boss less worrying thoughts after the 21-year-old was in fine form in recent friendlies for the Reds and has gained a great deal of confidence from the matches he has featured in. Phillips played in front of over 100,000 fans at ‘The Big House’ in Michigan against Manchester United last weekend as the Reds hammered their local rivals 4-1, which included the attacking talents of Alexis Sanchez and Juan Mata and has been a strong cover while his defensive team mates have been ruled out on the sidelines. With Gomez and Matip returning to training this week, Klopp may want to risk either of the pair to partner van Dijk but must be aware that they do not damage themselves further in the process.
