Sources: Significant update on Phillips leaving Liverpool after formal bid submitted
Liverpool are willing to loan out Nat Phillips this month if they cannot agree a permanent deal, Football Insider can exclusively reveal.
This site broke the news last Friday (7 January) that the Merseysiders had rejected a £7million bid from Watford for the centre-back.
A Liverpool source has told Football Insider that the club have told Phillips he can go out on loan if a full-time transfer is not completed by the 31 January cut-off.
The centre-back is keen to join a club where he can get regular game time after being on the fringes at Anfield this term following his breakthrough 2020-21 campaign.
It led to the defender signing a new four-year contract last August.
But he has been restricted to just three appearances this season and is now the fifth choice centre-back at the club.
Phillips could have added to those appearances had he not missed the last month with a cheekbone fracture, including in the FA Cup clash against Shrewsbury Town last Sunday.
Liverpool are holding out for a fee of around £12m for Phillips.
In an interview with Sky Sports (17 December), the player himself said he'd "certainly be interested" in a move to a club where he would play regularly.
Football Insider revealed on 29 November that West Ham were laying groundwork ahead of potential move for Phillips this month, while Watford have made the first formal offer.
There are multiple other clubs in England and on the Continent interested in Phillips.
The centre-back made 20 appearances for Liverpool last season and was one of their outstanding players in a difficult second half of the campaign.