Nat Phillips has revealed he was the reason behind Liverpool not signing a centre-back during the January transfer window.

The 23-year-old was halfway through a loan spell with Stuttgart before being recalled by Liverpool in December, and making his debut for the Reds on January 5 in the FA Cup third-round win over Everton.

There was questions at the time why Jurgen Klopp didn't sign another centre-back due to injuries, and Phillips says it was because he was the solution.

"He told me how it had all unfolded," Phillips told Goal. "It was after Salzburg when Dejan [Lovren] got injured, and they knew they might have a problem with centre-backs.

"He told me a story where the coaching staff were in the car together and thinking of solutions, then all of a sudden my name just popped into his head. That's when the process started.

"It was nice to know I hadn't been forgotten about, and that they trusted me enough to provide backup in that period rather than look for a temporary signing in the January transfer market. The whole three weeks were amazing."

Phillips returned to Stuttgart on loan on January 13.