Liverpool ready to sell defender if asking price is met - Reports

Liverpool are reportedly prepared to sell out-of-favor defender Nathaniel Phillips in the upcoming winter transfer window.

Phillips, 25, has been speculated to depart the Reds since the start of the summer transfer window. After returning from an impressive loan spell at Bournemouth, he was placed on the transfer list due to the presence of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.

However, Phillips failed to secure a permanent move elsewhere in the end. Since then, he has featured in just 208 minutes of action, spread across four matches across competitions for the Merseyside outfit.

As per The Athletic, Liverpool are ready to allow Phillips to depart in January next year for a fee in the region of £10 million.

Earlier in November, transfer insider Dean Jones asserted that West Ham United are keen to sign Phillips. He told Give Me Sport:

"I guess, the strongest interest you could say would be West Ham and Nat Phillips. They've had a keen eye on him, they've had good reports on him and they considered going for him strongly in the summer window. So I can see that one coming around again."

Phillips, who has a contract until June of 2025 at Anfield, earned a cult hero status for his crucial contributions during Liverpool's injury-plagued 2020-21 season. Overall, he has made 28 appearances for the Reds.

On the other hand, Liverpool are expected to facilitate multiple winter signings with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Enzo Fernandez, Sofyan Amrabat and Mohammed Kudus on the top of their transfer wishlist.

Liverpool in race to sign Serie A defender

Speaking to TEAMTALK in November, transfer insider Graeme Bailey shed light on the transfer saga involving Inter Milan star Milan Skriniar. He said:

"Inter still believe that they will convince him to stay but he will very soon be able to field those pre-contract offers. Paris Saint-Germain were always and still are but now all the top Premier League clubs are interested in him. The chance to land one of the world’s best defenders at 27 does not come along too often."

Pinpointing the Reds as one of the interested clubs, Bailey added:

"So even Manchester City, who don't have a new centre-half at the top of their wanted list, are ready to put an offer to him. But so are Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and Newcastle. The battle for Skriniar will be fascinating if he decides to leave."

Skriniar, 27, has been a crucial first-team starter for the Nerazzurri since arriving from Sampdoria in the summer of 2017. He has helped his club win three trophies, making 236 appearances in the process.