The move made by the derby county especially taken Phillips on a loan deal from Liverpool last summer has not been successful. The 27-year-old defender has played for some of the eminent English clubs across the Premier League and Champions League, but he has only occasionally featured for Paul Warne. In 11 league matches, Phillips has started only four matches, and critics such as Woodward have not seen him as a sensational performer.
According to Woodward, he has failed to meet high standards of performance as should be expected of someone in Phillips’ capacity. He advises Derby that they should return Phillips to Liverpool and instead seek to acquire a loan player in the forward line to help with problem of low goal scoring.
Consequently, what may have looked like a good possibility of signing Phillips on a loan deal for Derby, has yet to see the creation of an impact on the team. Woodward said that since the player does not play often and the team has a sufficient number of defensive players, the club will be better off signing a new loan player in the forward line.