Nat Phillips became an unlikely star for Liverpool in 2020-21, as he benefited from the injury-enforced absences of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, and the 24-year-old defender hopes there will be a future role for him at Anfield.
The no-nonsense centre-half has admitted that he was ready to push for the exits ahead of a campaign on Merseyside that has just come to a close, with it difficult to see where he figured in Jurgen Klopp's plans.
He was, however, to see a door open up that allowed 20 appearances to be taken in across Premier League and Champions League competition, with an impressive collection of combative showings suggesting that he does have a part to play when everyone is fit.
What has been said?
Phillips hopes that will prove to be the case, telling LFCTV of his ambition on the back of a breakthrough campaign: "Don’t get me wrong, even though I feel like this season’s been successful for me, I know that I’ve got plenty to work on and plenty to improve on.
"That’s what I’ll be doing in the off-season, I’ll have a little break and then get back to training on my own and work on things maybe you don't get the opportunity to during the season, because it’s so intense.
"So I’ll be doing that and hopefully have a strong pre-season, just continue to develop and build on what I’ve done so far this year."
Pressed on whether he wants to continue figuring prominently for the Reds, Phillips added: "Yes, certainly."
How did Phillips fare in 2020-21?
A product of Liverpool's academy system had taken in just one senior appearance for the Reds heading into 2020-21.
A Premier League debut was taken in against West Ham in October, with a first goal recorded in a vital victory over Burnley in May.
He ended the season with a centre-half berth nailed down alongside Rhys Williams and with a five-game winning run seeing Klopp's side wrap up Champions League qualification.
On how the Reds turned things around after looking out of the top-four picture at one stage, Phillips added: "We had various team meetings throughout the season and had open conversations about anything we feel we might need to address and that sort of thing.
"But I couldn’t put my finger on anything, to be honest. I think part of it is psychological; once you start to develop a bit of consistency and hit form, it’s a lot easier to go into games without worries or concerns and truly believing that you are going to come away with a win before the game.
"Throughout the first half of the season, I think because we struggled to ever hit any real form or consistency maybe there was always that doubt or insecurity, but we managed to find it at the right time and we are playing Champions League football next year."
Further reading
- How Liverpool can close the gap on Man City next season
- Musialowski: 'The Polish Hazard' lighting up Liverpool's academy
- Alexander-Arnold reveals response to England squad debate