New signing Nat Phillips says his conversations with Head Coach Paul Warne were vital to completing his move to Derby County.
The 27-year-old centre-back has joined the Rams on a season-long loan from Liverpool. The defender brings a wealth of experience with him having made appearances in the Champions League, Premier League, Bundesliga 2 and Championship level.
Phillips spent the final half of the 2023/24 season on loan with Cardiff City, making 18 outings for the Bluebirds in that time.
After becoming Paul Warne’s tenth signing of the summer, Phillips sat down with RamsTV to discuss making the move to Pride Park Stadium, his conversations with the Rams' Head Coach and bringing his experience to the squad.
On joining the Rams for the season…
My feeling is just excitement. I've spent a bit of time here now meeting all the staff and everyone seems really friendly, and the facilities are top-level. I'm looking forward to seeing the stadium as well, having a little walk around there. I'm just looking forward to getting going.
On making the switch on deadline day…
It is just frantic, I'd say. There are a lot of wheels in motion and a lot of things sort of turning and changing. Obviously, I'm really glad to have managed to get this done in time. For most of the day, I was sitting by the phone waiting for the updates and just making sure that everything was getting done and waiting until I could get in the car to drive down here.
On his conversation with Paul Warne before joining…
It was an interesting one. I would say that was quite a big part of why I wanted to come here. We had a really good conversation about how he manages and also how he wants his team to play. I got a really good feeling from him and that helped make the decision for me.
There are plenty of reasons (for joining Derby). It's a huge historical club. The fact that they're back up into the Championship this year after a good season last year, it's an exciting time for the club. They've got great facilities, a great stadium, good fan base and I'm sure they'll be looking forward to hopefully a positive season in the Championship. Like I said earlier, the conversation with Paul Warne kind of solidified everything for me.
On returning to the Championship after time with Cardiff last season…
I'm looking forward to it. I've had two separate stints in the Championship, but both six-month or half-season spells. It's nice to come here on a longer-term basis with the full season ahead of me. I've played a number of games in the league now, so I know the challenges it can bring and what to expect and I'm looking forward to that.
On seeing Pride Park Stadium for the first time…
I’m really excited. I've heard great things about the home support. I've never been to a game where the home support has been there before, so I'm looking forward to seeing that. I am just looking forward to getting involved and contributing.
