It will most likely forever be the most unique Liverpool debut. And, for Nat Phillips, it set the tone for one of the strangest of Anfield careers.
Phillips was spending the 2019/20 season on loan at Stuttgart when, with the German second division side on their winter break, the call came over Christmas for the defender to return to Liverpool.
Injuries to fellow centre-backs Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren meant Phillips was instantly among the substitutes for the home Premier League win over Sheffield United on January 2. And with Virgil van Dijk in need of a breather after a hectic first half of the season in which the Reds had not long returned from winning the Club World Cup in Qatar, Phillips was thrust into the starting line-up for a shock bow in the FA Cup third round tie at home to Everton three days later.
