Ryan Mason set to kick-off West Brom recruitment push with signing from Liverpool

Powerful centre-back Phillips, 28, has entered the final year of his contract at Anfield and the Baggies are set to win the race for his signature. A deal with the Premier League champions is not yet complete but at an advanced stage.

Albion have been tracking the Bolton-born defender and had competition for his signing from ambitious Championship new-boys Wrexham. Norwich City were also linked.

Long-serving former Albion defender Semi Ajayi was released at the end of his contract at The Hawthorns and has since checked in at second tier rivals Hull City.

Phillips, who will become new head coach Mason's first new arrival when he signs on the dotted line, will slot into Albion's rearguard options, with another of the squad's central defensive options Kyle Bartley having turned 34 this summer.

Nat Phillips in action on a loan spell for Cardiff City

Norwegian defender Torbjorn Heggem, who excelled in his first season in England, is Albion's other centre-back regular. Heggem has been linked with a move away this summer. Academy graduate Caleb Taylor, 22, is highly regarded at Albion and will be looked at during pre-season.

Incoming defender Phillips spent last season on loan at Derby County in the Championship, where he clocked up 33 appearances, 32 in the league and seriously impressed. Derby boss John Eustace was keen on a permanent deal but the Rams were priced out in the wage department.

It was his fifth loan move away from Anfield, where he moved to as a 19-year-old from hometown club Bolton. Phillips rose to prominence at Liverpool in the 2020/21 campaign, where he played a pivotal role in helping the Reds overcome an injury crisis to make a successful late push to secure Champions League football.

Phillips has not played a competitive game for Liverpool since the 2022/23 season. It had been incorrectly reported elsewhere Phillips' Anfield contract expired this summer, but instead it still has another 12 months to run. Liverpool turned down £4million from Turkish outfit Trabzonspor last summer.

He has also had loan spells at Stuttgart in Germany, Bournemouth, Celtic and Cardiff - the Cherries and the Bluebirds also as a Championship player. In total Phillips made 29 appearances for the Reds and has totalled another 100 games in his various loans.

It is an important week for Mason and Albion as preparations for the new season ramp up. Players - those who were not on international duty in early June - are back in for pre-season from Wednesday.

Mason and his fellow staff, both old and new, are in the training ground from the start of this week to get working on plans. Creative options are on Albion's agenda following the exits of John Swift and Grady Diangana, as is the striker department at the top of the pitch.

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