Derby County urged to sign 28-year-old "at all costs" - West Brom are also interested | OneFootball

The Rams have been advised to do all the can to sign Nat Phillips on a permanent deal this summer.

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Derby County will be hoping to look up the Championship table next season after securing their second tier safety.

The Rams were hanging precariously over the League One trapdoor when ex-Derby man John Eustace walked through the door at Pride Park, but the former Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City coach did a stellar job to help the East Midlands club survive after such recent turbulent times.

Derby can now look to the future under a safe pair of hands, with all connected with the Rams hopeful that Eustace can help push the club into the top six conversation, just like he did while at Ewood Park and St Andrew’s.

One player who could help contribute to that ambition is defender Nat Phillips, who played an integral role in Eustace’s system to help steer the club away from relegation trouble while on loan.

Establishing himself as a Championship regular with the likes of Cardiff City and now Derby, a host of clubs are said to be interested in a summer swoop for the current Liverpool man.

Phillips enters the final year of his contract at Anfield, with Liverpool keen on sending him away permanently to a Championship outfit.

According to The Athletic’s Gregg Evans, there is already “strong interest” from a number of clubs in the Championship – with West Brom named as a potential destination.

Meanwhile, Eustace has admitted he would be keen to keep Phillips after such a successful stint, as the defender made 32 appearances for the club.

With this in mind, FLW’s Derby County fan pundit has weighed in with their htoughts about whether Derby should pursue a permanent deal for the 28-year-old this summer.

Derby County advised to do all they can to permanently sign Nat Phillips

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward believes the Rams should get Nat Phillips “at all costs” so the club can make strides up the Championship table under John Eustace.

Woodward said: “I’ve said it for a long time, get him at all costs.

“I think if we can get him on a free and we need to pay more in wages, so be it. I'm not saying we should go crazy and get ourselves into the mess we used to be in, but I think he showed in that latter part of the season that he's absolutely immense at this level.

“You give him a run of games in the team and he's an absolute beast at this level. I think him and Clarke together, with a fit Langas, we’d have the makings of a top six defence, especially through the middle, and what a platform to build from. I think with those three centre halves and Adams in front of them, we've got a real good foundation for a strong side.

“We add some quality in the wider areas and the attacking areas, then we've got the makings of a really good side. I think we should go all out to get him and if we have to maybe break our wage structure a little bit, then I'm all for that to get genuine Championship quality, which is what we need now.

“We can't be going out and taking risks on lower-level players, lower-league players, players with injury records, get the solid, proven players that can do a job for us and push this club forward.”

Derby County could be at the front of the queue to sign Nat Phillips

While there’s set to be huge interest from the Championship for Nat Phillips, Derby County could leapfrog the queue and persuade him to rejoin Pride Park on a long-term basis after having a wonderful loan spell there.

The defender developed such a positive rapport with the Derby faithful for his solid displays in the backline and turned himself into such a reliable figure, who was one of the first names on the teamsheet under John Eustace.

Derby would be able to continue offering him regular football, which is exactly what he needs at this stage of his playing career, while the project at Derby could be appealing as they look to develop a squad that can push towards being in promotion contention.

Playing under such a well-regarded second tier boss who improves players wherever he manages, Phillips could be tempted to link back up at Derby when taking all of these factors into account.

It would certainly be a statement signing to the rest of the division that Derby plan to be a force in the upcoming 2025-26 campaign.