Nat Phillips confirms desire to leave Liverpool in January

Liverpool centre-back Nat Phillips has confessed that he hopes to leave Anfield once the January transfer window opens.

A regular in Liverpool's injury-hit defence last season, Phillips was rewarded with a new four-year contract in August but has made just four appearances in all competitions so far, none of which have come in the Premier League.

Phillips has only made the bench four times in the league this year, with Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez all firmly ahead of him in the pecking order.

A transfer has been expected for a while now, and Phillips has confirmed to Sky Sports News that he is planning to leave Anfield in the coming weeks.

"I want to be playing games," Phillips said. "It's been tough because the competition to get in this team is fierce.

"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 don't need to go through that process if I do go somewhere else. I'll be ready straight away to get involved and play."

Despite his lack of game time, Phillips was full of praise for Liverpool and stressed that the experience of training alongside Van Dijk and against superstar forwards like Mohamed Salah will serve him well.

"Not only defenders we have, but the attackers as well. If I'm holding my own in training against the strikers we have then it stands me in good stead," he added.

"I can't complain. The standard in training improves me every day. If it wasn't to happen I would certainly still be living a happy life."