Liverpool REJECT £7m offer for Nat Phillips as Reds hold out for £15m

Liverpool have rejected a £7million bid from an unnamed Premier League club for defender Nat Phillips as they hold out for £15m.

The 24-year-old defender revealed his desire to leave Anfield last month as he seeks regular first-team football.

Phillips played a key role for boss Jurgen Klopp last season when the Reds were decimated by injuries in defence with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all out for large parts of the campaign.

While Sportsmail understands it is a bid from a Premier League side that has been rejected, Sky have detailed that the centre back is generating interest in Italy from clubs in Serie A.

The Italian top flight has become a popular landing spot for Premier League players in recent years with Chris Smalling, Alexis Sanchez and Christian Eriksen among those to have made the move in recent years.

Phillips, who has been sidelined as he recovered from a fractured cheekbone, sustained against AC Milan in the Champions League last month, is now looking to sort his future and find a move that provides regular minutes.

He made 17 league appearances last season amid that aforementioned injury crisis and that form, which saw him strike a partnership alongside Rhys Williams at the back, saw him sign a new contract in August.

While that contract runs through until 2025, Phillips has made just three senior appearances so far this season, none of which have come in the Premier League, and he is pushing for a fresh start.

'I want to be playing games. It's been tough because the competition to get in this team is fierce,' Phillips told Sky Sports in December.

'The manager and I agree that the best thing for me is to play as many games as possible. I think you saw last year I developed well.

'I'm going to see what comes along [in January] and go from there. I think at this moment in time it's unlikely that I'll be playing lots of games for Liverpool, so if an opportunity arises where I get the chance to do that somewhere else and it suits everyone then it's certainly something I'd be interested in.

'I've had the exposure and experience in the Premier League and the Champions League. So maybe those situations where you're new and nervy, I've gone through that phase. I'll be ready straight away to get involved and play.'

Liverpool, who are currently battling a Covid outbreak which forced the closure of their training ground this week, are believed to be in no rush to seal exits for players on the periphery of Klopp's first team.