Cardiff City have bagged the signature of Liverpool defender Nat Phillips on a deal until the end of the season

Cardiff City have completed the signing of Liverpool defender Nat Phillips.

The centre-back arrives in south Wales on a six-month loan deal, having spent the opening half of the season with Scottish giants Celtic. His time north of the border didn’t quite go to plan, with game-time at Celtic Park limited. He was recalled early by the Reds from his stint with the Hoops, but he has now been allowed to leave for the Bluebirds.

Phillips becomes the club’s second signing of the month, following on from Ryotaro Tsunoda, who joined from J1 League side Yokohama F. Marinos before being sent straight out on loan to Belgian outfit KV Kortrijk.

Cardiff saw off Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United interest to land Phillips, who will now challenge established centre-backs Mark McGuinness and Dimitrios Goutas for a place in Erol Bulut’s starting XI.

The Turkish boss says he hopes more players follow Phillips in through the door before the window closes.

“Everybody knows Nat from his time in the Championship with Bournemouth, and also with Liverpool,” Bulut said. “He brings a lot of experience with him.

“He will help us a lot in the defensive shape, and also in our attacking shape to have better build-up from the back. He is good on the ball and he is a big addition in our squad.

“Today it is my birthday, and I have a birthday present from the board, so I would like to thank them. Everybody is working hard, and I hope we can finalise more of what we need in the next few days.”

Phillips said: “I think it’s a great stadium, a great city and a big club. I think the club has ambitions to compete, and we’re in a decent position in the league. That made it an exciting move.

“We want to give it a good push for this second half of the season now. I want to play well for the team, and hopefully that will come with success. I spoke to the gaffer about how he wants me and the team to play, and it felt like a good fit.

“I had my first session today, and I enjoyed that. I already feel like I’m settling in nicely with the team, so I’m looking forward to getting going.”

Phillips has been out on loan three times already since he’s been at Liverpool, having spent time with German club Stuttgart, Bournemouth and Celtic, all with varying degrees of success. The Merseyside club are believed to have sought assurances over Phillips’ game-time in the Welsh capital.

Under Jurgen Klopp Phillips gained Champions League experience, something he also tasted under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic.

After a slow start to the January transfer window, things appear to be heating up for Bulut and the Bluebirds, who are said to be leading the chase for striker Andrej Ilić and are reportedly holding talks with Celtic’s David Turnbull.