Leeds United appear to be coming to the end of their protracted managerial search, with it looking as if the Elland Road outfit are set to snap up one-time Norwich City boss Daniel Farke over the coming days.
As per The Guardian, the 46-year-old is 'expected' to be named as the club's new permanent head coach and is line to take charge of training when the first-team squad returns on Monday, with the German having been out of work since leaving Borussia Monchengladbach at the end of last season.
Following what was a turbulent campaign in the dugout for the Whites during a frankly miserable 2022/23 campaign – which included the desperate late appointment of Sam Allardyce – the club's support can now look ahead to a brighter future under a man who twice guided the Canaries out of the Championship during his prior stint at Carrow Road.
If Farke is to repeat such heroics in Yorkshire, however, he will need to invest wisely in the summer transfer window in order to bolster the newly-relegated outfit, with strengthening the defence likely to be of particular concern after Leeds shipped 78 goals last term – the worst record in the top flight.
According to a recent report from The Athletic, one man who has seemingly been identified as a possible solution to those woes is Liverpool titan, Nat Phillips, with the 26-year-old valued at around £10m by his current side with two years left to run on his existing deal at Anfield.
The piece stated that Farke had previously been interested in signing the Englishman during his time at Norwich, with there a high chance that the prospective Leeds boss can finally get his man ahead of next season's promotion bid.
Would Nat Phillips be a good signing for Leeds?
There will likely be those who would be concerned at the prospect of signing a player who featured just five times in all competitions last season on Merseyside, although the 6 foot 3 ace has previously shown his class in recent years, having been hailed for his "insane" development by manager Jurgen Klopp.
The one-time Bolton Wanderers youth asset notably came to wider attention after featuring 20 times during the latter stages of the 2020/21 campaign due to an injury crisis that had hampered the Reds, with Klopp notably lauding the late bloomer as something of a "monster" in the air due to his physical prowess.
The towering colossus also starred while on loan at AFC Bournemouth back in 2021/22 as part of the Cherries' successful promotion charge, having kept eight clean sheets in just 17 league outings, while also winning 69% of his aerial duels.
While he may not be "easy on the eye" – as Klopp previously stated – Phillips is certainly a dominant force in the backline, with Farke potentially having the chance to form a destructive defensive partnership involving the Liverpool ace and January arrival, Max Wober.
The latter man was unable to help Leeds stave off the drop last season following his £11m switch from Red Bull Salzburg, although the 25-year-old did catch the eye after averaging 3.3 tackles and interceptions and 4.0 clearances per game from his 16 Premier League outings.
That is a similar record to what Phillips achieved during his stint at the Vitality Stadium – 2.3 tackles and interceptions and 4.1 clearances, as per Sofascore – showcasing that the left-foot, right-foot combination could well prove a stern test for any opposition strike force next season.
As such, snapping up the Bolton-born menace from Anfield could prove to be a first major masterstroke for Farke at Leeds.
