Norwich City ruled out of challenging West Brom & Derby County for Liverpool transfer | OneFootball

There is one less club in the running for the services of the centre-back, who is wanted by multiple Championship sides

Liverpool defender Nat Phillips is a wanted man this summer among EFL clubs - but he will not be heading to Norwich City.

The 28-year-old spent the majority of the 2024-25 campaign on loan in the Championship at Derby County, showing his best form and performances at the end of that season under John Eustace as the Rams survived the drop.

Because of that, a number of clubs are keen on the Bolton-born centre-half this summer, but one apparent interested party has already been ruled out of the running.

Norwich City ruled out of Nat Phillips transfer race

As per a report from The Athletic earlier this week, a number of Championship clubs are keen on signing Phillips, who has one year left on his deal at Anfield, despite it being widely reported previously that his contract was set to expire this summer.

West Brom were the only club named in the report as being keen on bringing Phillips to The Hawthorns, although you'd assume given his showings for Derby last season that they'd also be interested if it was financially viable.

Another club linked to Phillips via social media was that of Norwich City, who are looking to bolster their defensive options under new head coach Liam Manning - especially after loanee Callum Doyle headed back to Man City.

However, journalist Connor Southwell of the Eastern Daily Press has revealed that Norwich are not interested in signing Phillips, which paves the way for another club to land him this summer.

The Canaries do have other targets in mind though, with Harry Darling of Swansea City a player of interest with his contract in South Wales expiring - it was reported last week that Manning was keen to re-unite with the defender he had whilst he was in charge of MK Dons, and in his first press conference at Carrow Road, he confirmed that he would be a good fit if the opportunity arose to bring him into the fold.

Norwich City not joining Nat Phillips transfer battle could be West Brom's gain

Norwich seem to be looking elsewhere in their pursuit of a new defender, and that could leave the door open for West Brom to make their move for the out of favour Liverpool man.

Ryan Mason is lacking depth at the back with the departure of Semi Ajayi, and Kyle Bartley is getting no younger at the age of 34, so a player in his prime years to play next to Torbjorn Heggem would be ideal.